#she kept saying i needed to upload a file to the site...but the issue is we had to add a security measure to UPLOAD FIELDS IN FORMS

[six-of-ravens]

took an early lunch to drive mom home from an appointment, since her dr was late and dad had to leave for work (+50 EXP for parking in the hospital lot) and had a nice little lunch with her, and then came back to work and this client decided to go insane, and it feels like I stepped outside and got immediately hit by a tornado

[simpingfortheages]

//JUST 4 WEEKS//

Hiii umm sorry for taking long. I have exams😭 she again is long as fuucckkkk. I hope you enjoy. (still leave requests please)

Prompts requests: 8, 24, 25.

Ms Venable × Fem! Reader.

SMUT PACKED! (Fluff,begging,edging, oversimtimlation, jealousy, dom! Venable, sub! Fem Reader)

Reader is a kind spirit always helping and finding new ways to make friends. A light that attracted every one,even Ms Venable. However she doesn't take it lightly when someone else is trying to take what's hers.

~~~~~~~♡~~~~~~~~~~~♡~~~~~~~~~~~♡~~~~~

The dynamic you and Ms Venable had was a peculiar one. In her lovely abode she was an expressive one,the kisses and hugs she would bestow on every exposure of your skin were sacred. The secrets that she would share with you in bed after the passion lovemaking was something you especially loved. She was always vunerable and soft in your presence alone. However, that Ms Venable never found her way into work,even in the workplace when it is both you and her alone.

No way did she show or return any affection to you. It was deemed " unfit and inappropriate" in her words. She was a complete 360, the soft twinkle in her eyes were always replaced with stone hard glares and there was a slight frown took the place of the delicate smile that adorned her plump lips. But you being the caring and loving person you are, you respected her rules and decisions. 1. No kissing 2. No sexual teasing of any kind 3. No joking or laughing... etc etc... basically you both acted like strangers. She didn't care what you did at work with the other employee,she made that quite clear. As long as it doesn't involve her or her reputation. She treated you just like she did any other employee at kineros robotics and that included being scolded and embarrassed infront your other co workers. You however benefited from that, because she would always end up making up for it at home. So yes it was a peculiar dynamic but it was a dynamic you shared with her.

Today was the same old, you kissed your Mina goodbye at home before you went to work in your separate vehicles. Of course she wouldn't mind you riding along side with her. It was just that others would become suspicious and Ms Venable had a stern, don't fuck with her reputation to uphold. You carried out your daily work routine, you clocked in and made your way to the kitchen to make yourself your second cup of coffee. After doing so you took your seat on the chair located near the window which gave you a clear view of the carpark, you liked to see when your Mina came to work in her Purple Honda. Yes she customized it, the links and connections this woman has is mind blowing. "HEYYY Y/N" you jumped at the sudden outburst, it was Jeff and Muff. The twiddle dee and twiddle dumbass who ran the whole Robot operation . Mentally you rolled your eyes at their way of greeting . You then swiftly angled your body to face them. "Yes boys? What do you need" this earned a sly smile to creep up upon both of their faces simultaneously. You couldn't help but scowl at their expressions " what do you need?" You repeated with annoyance and a hint of nervousness. " there is a new girl. She is a sweet little thing"Jeff started off ,all the while grabbing your mug of coffee to sip from it. You made no attempt to stop him because you were too caught up in trying to understanding what his point was. "Okay??? And you are telling me this because???" You yanked the cup of coffee back from Jeff and moved to pour your contaminated drink down the sink . So much for your second cup. "I want you to show her around,you know help her in the emails and files all the dumb shit you do." "Just this time you both will be doing the dumb shit" Mutt finished what Jeff was saying. Damn so basically a trainee. You already knew that you had no choice,these knuckle heads after all were your bosses. " sure yea why not" you mumbled as you washed up your cup and placed back on the rack. Jeff clapped his hands in delight at your response. " Great! so she is already in your office- well it is both of your office now. We kind of needed to split your office but hey I mean you have a roommate now " you closed you eyes and tried to control your temper. They were really starting to grate on your nerves at this point. You didn't even bother to say your departure,you just left the staff kitchen and made you way to your office.

The newbie Chloe wasn't all that bad. She was this preppy,talkative and very affectionate in her interactions. She was this medium height,brown haired girl who always has on perfume that smelt like strawberries . A few weeks passed and you both became quite close, you spent a lot of time helping and getting to know one another, heck you even went "nose blind" to her over bearing starwberry perfume she wore, guess the shared office wasn't so bad. " Fuck!" Chloe exclaimed, your eyes opened wide at her remark,"whoa Chloe what's with the language" you stood up from your chair and walked over to her desk to see what the issue was. "I cannot seem to get the file to open and send to the Main system. I have been like this for 3 fucking days"she cried out, Chloe was almost on the verge of tears. You being the kind person you are, you lowered yourself to her level and wiped her teary eyes. The gesture was one of friendly,it has no romantic intention behind it. " don't cry Chloe,please it's annoying" you got a laugh mixed with a tiny sniffle with that line. "Let me see what I can do" you gently pushed her chair to the side causing her to roll a few feet away. Atleast Chloe was happily giggling, you shot a smile in her direction. You then hovered over her laptop to try and figure out the problem. After a few minutes you managed to not only open the file but you send the attachment files along with it to the main site of log in. All this time Chloe was hovering over you,trying to see what you were doing all the while chewing on her nails out of nervousness.

With a few clicks and dragging the tasks that were done you did it, "annndddd done. See Chloe no need to be such a cry baby" you stated with humor. Chloe shrieked out of happiness and enveloped you in a death grip of a hug. You didn't even have time to react since she basically squeezed all of the air out of you. "Hug me back y/n, for someone who knows how to upload a file you sure are missing a few cells" you rolled your eyes and released an exaggerated exhale. You reciprocated her warm embrace, it did feel nice and comfortable. "BANG BANG BANG" the sound was heard 3 times one after the other. That was a sound you were quite familiar with...but where did you recognise it??. The hug was broken up rather quickly. A loud clearing of someone's throath from the door made you turn your head. FUCK ...the sound was Ms Venable's cane. After seeing who it was,you increased the distance even more between you and Chloe. "Don't you know that this isn't the place for such disgusting acts? Hmm Ms Chloe a simpleton such as yourself still hasn't manage to send me the email as yet. But here you are wasting time, then again what should I expect from someone who is a waste of space themselves. Get the fuck put of my sight." her words were icey and cold. At this point Chloe was furiously trying to wipe away her tears,but they fell faster than she could dry them. She meekly excused herself from the office and slithered pass Ms Venable to probably cry even more in the bathroom. You didn't dare run after Chloe or even move. Your eyes were fixacted on the white tiles of the building floor. Ms Venable said nothing, she just walked away. If it wasn't the sound of her cane clicks becoming softer and distance you wouldn't have known that she left. You knew better though, that her walking away was a sign to for you to follow her. And follow her you did.

You kept a steady pace behind her trying to keep up with her haste movements. The tension was intense, the way she gripped the head of her cane to the slight flare of her nostrils didn't go unnoticed either. You knew that she was upset??... annoyed?? What were you Ms Venable? You pondered. Your train of thought was put to a halt when you heard the thumping of her cane stop. She was currently standing infront her closed wooden office door. No one dared to disturb her when the lock on the door was turned. She was basically worshipped at this Robotic place, she was feared and she knew that. She thrived of the idea, everytime someone were to cower in her presence you'd always noticed the way her eyes darkened, the slight upward tilt of her chin and the more square her shoulders got. And right now that's exactly how she stared at you. She was the predator and you were the prey.

She eyes locked sharply onto yours, but you didn't look away. No, instead you met her gaze with the same confidence. With her left foot tapping her black strapped heels against the floor, followed by the clicking of her neatly manicured nails on the head on her cane. She exhaled exasperatedly and raised both her eyebrows in my direction. She was waiting and she was impatient , she wanted an apology. But you weren't going to give her one, you did nothing wrong. The deep growl that left her lips went striaght to your lower stomach. She angrily and roughly turned the knob of her office door to give access into the oddly cold room. Ms Venable broke eye contact with you and brushed past to enter the room. You almost chuckled out loud at how adorable she was behaving. You mentally shrugged it off and made you way into the room behind her

It all happened so fast, her slender hands were wrapped around your neck as your back was shoved against the door,causing it to be closed and locked with a loud bang. Her face was now mere inches away from yours, the smell of her perfume and heavy minty breathe invades yours sense. It was a euphoric feeling, the way she towered over you and held the firm grip on your neck. " Why are you always with that daft moron?" She seethed though her clenched teeth. "Who? Chloe?" You questioned with feigned confusion. The hold on your neck only got tigher as you said her name. " don't say her disgusting name in my office" she spat, your face broke out in a big toothed smile. The brown colour in her eyes seemed to darken at your reaction,almost as though you were mocking her. “Why are you so jealous?” your smile seemed to get bigger. Ms Venable was taken aback by your statement. She simply scoffed and rolled her eyes. You were determined to make her admit to her jealousy just for the fun of it. "Awww Mina, it's okayyy to be a little jealous. It looks sexy on you" you flashed a wink in her direction. Ms Venable released you from her grip and placed both her hands atop the head of her cane. Her back was now straighten with purpose and superiority, if you weren't romantically involved with her one would say that she was completely unbothered. However,the faltering in her ability to maintain eye contact and the hard clenching of her jaw said otherwise.

"So you are saying that if I were to go after Chloe and comfort her right now ? You wouldn't care because it is IN the workplace right?" You used he own rule against her as you proceeded to push. Ms Venable swallowed hard at your comment. "No. I wouldn't care what you do" the grip on her cane was a lot stronger now,even to the point her knuckles were turning white. "Okay then mina" you spun around and reached for the for handle. Of course you weren't going to comfort Chloe, you just wanted to see how far your Mina will go. Since Wilhelmina was never one to be in touch with her emotions, she wouldn't express it verbally.

You jokingly turned the handle and opened the door. She still didn't stop you,but there was a hint of hurt and sadness that made its way to her face and body language. The way she shoulders hunched over with the subtle upturn of her eyebrows pulled are your heartstrings. She looked so vulnerable. "Aww mina don't do that face, of course I'm not going after her" you closed the door and hurriedly made your way towards her, throwing you arms around her body. The act took her by surprise, but she didn't mind, she mentally smiled that you choose her over Chloe. Ms Venable reciprocated your embrace,one hand rested firmly of her cane whilst the other was securely wrapped around your waist. However it was in a firm grip, as though if she were to left go you'd run away to Chloe. The hug was a warm and loved one, Ms Venable felt comfortable in your hold, the boiling feeling in her blood subsided and replaced with one of calm. She leaned down and nuzzled into the crook of your neck to inhale your perfume or rather the mild scent of the soap that would sometimes linger on your skin. Ms Venable softly inhaled against your neck , the scent of strawberries filled her senses. Her eyes snapped open at the smell, the grip around your waist tightened even more. Ms Venable roughly exhaled through her nose as thought she was trying to expel the ratched smelt that invaded her nasal cavity.You didn't pull away from the hug until a low guteral growl ripped it's way from her throath. The sound went straight to your lower stomach. Ms Venable hated the fact that you reeked of Chloe's nauseating perfume. It was a indication as though you belonged to Chloe and not to her. Ms Venable didn't like that one bit.

" you smell disgusting Y/N the fowl stench on your clothes is polluting my office. Strip" you let out a nervous chuckle at her request. However, Ms Venable kept a straight fact...she was serious. It dawned on you that her words were in fact a demand and not a request. You accepted that you weren't going to win whatever argument that she had planned in her head so you began to slowly strip away your clothes. As you did so she shameless roamed her eyes over your body. You weren't shy, it wasn't the first time she has done so. In fact you liked it,you basked in the idea of her loving your body. That wasn't a lie, she always made sure to express how much she worshiped your body by leaving kisses and marks. It was very intimate of her. You were now half naked standing infront of the lady in purple. Only in your underwear .

Ms Venable took one good look of your body and lowly hmmed in approval.  You preened at her reaction, your heart basically swole at her acknowledgment. Ms Venable broke her admiration on your figure and made her way to another door. A door that you never knew existed, it was a wooden door with a varnished finishing although it was pretty, it didn't quite go with the aesthetic of the room. You were never really allowed in her office since she basically ignored your existence. You walked behind her, following in her steps. "Pick up your clothes y/n ,you aren't an animal" a loud huff escaped your lips almost as though you were insulted.  You assembled the articles of your garment and folded it neatly. Ms Venable was already in the other room waiting for you. You swallowed thickly trying to suppress the nervousness that arised in your throath. As you entered the room you were in awe. Ms Venable basically had a whole bedroom. A queen size bed with silk sheets,a whole closet too that was walk in. The walls were white and accompanied in the cold atmosphere  was a mild yet soothing lavender scent.

*SLAM* Ms Venable shut the door. You junked and spun around to meet her list gaze. The coldness in the room made goosebumps arrise on your skin, the sharp look she gave you had you feeling like a prey being stalked.  Ms Venable was the predator and you have just been corner. She was hungry...very hungry. One of her hands gently pulled away from the surface of the door as she strutted towards you in a slow much dangerous manner. Out of reflex you backed away from her. Every one step she took you took two. As you stepped back you ran out of space, the back if your legs made contact with something hard.  A small sqeak of surprise made its way pass your slightly parted lips. When you turned around you saw that it was the lower part of the bed frame. At the point Ms Venable was towering over your small frame.  The closeness of her proximity got you feeling flustered, "who do you belong too?" She sneered. Feeling already small and intimated "you" she tilted her chin upwards but still didn't break eye contact with you. With a neatly manicured hand, she rested it on you chest and shoved you roughly on the silk bed.  The impact was rough yet gently. Ms Venable didn't move from the foot of the bed, instead she just stared at you. " you're so fucking hot when you're mad" you said as you broke the thick atmosphere. She raised an eyebrow at your bold response. She didn't waste any time walking over to the side table and receiving something. You tried to sit up to see what it was, only for Ms Venable to snap at you to remain lying down. You had no choice but to obey, you kept your eyes glued to the ceiling waiting in suspense of what Ms Venable had up her sleeve. The empty space on the bed beside you sank as it was your mina who occupied it, you turned  your face only to be met with her wicked grin. Based on that expression alone you knew that you were going to pay.

"Are you going to apologise?" She focused her gaze onto me even harder. Your reply was a confident shake of the head. It seemed as thought that was the reply Ms Venable wanted. " What's the safe word?" She asked gently, her voice was soft and inviting.  "Fire" you replied , you were excited for the unknown. You never know what way she was going to punish you, but each time it correlated to what she thought you did wrong.  It was quite clever and not really unexpected from a woman such as herself. Ms Venable made a casual gesture for you to turn over onto your side. That's weird you thought, you thought she was going to punish you.  You didn't  mind cuddling with your girlfriend, instead you smiled put of glee and turned to your side, awaiting for your mina to spoon you. You snuggled in closer to your girlfriend. The soothing breathing of your Mina  in your right ear was ticklish, almost as if it were sending electrical shocks to your core, she noticed the way you got fidgety but didn't say anything, instead she bite down on the shell of your ear and released low growls.  At this point your eyes were screwed tightly and you were trying to control your breathing.  Unknowingly you arched your back against your girlfriend. The small act of her pressed on your body and the attention you were  getting was too overwhelming.  You needed her and she knew it. An uncontrolled whisper left you parted lips," shhh baby i know, I'm only now starting, just close your eyes." Your heart rate was bearing so loud and fast at the moment. You listened to her and closed your eyes, you trusted your Mina.  As you did so you felt her knee wedge it's away between your thighs, although it wasn't high enough for you to grind your needy core against. Your eyes snapped open in furstation.  " Y/N I said to close your eyes. If you don't listen I will leave you alone" she demanded with a rough tone. You barely even made time to turn your head backwards to face her.  You listened to her threat and took it seriously, you closed your eyes tighter this time and awaited for her actions. "Hmmm good girl" she mummered against your ear. You glowed under her comment.  

Suddenly you felt her arm drape across your stomach, your breath hitched as she took the time to drag circles along your skin. Her hand progressively got lower and lower to where you needed it most. Your body was a map and Ms Venable had it memorized.  She knew all the ways to make you whimper and beg for her. As she reached the place you needed her most, a low sound almost a hum filled the thick lust atmosphere. You desperately fought against wanting to break her rule and see what it was. The suspense of whatever she was holding quickly left you mind when a feeling of pleasure and attention was bestowed upon your covered clit.  The agonising slow motion of her circling your throbbing clit, Ms Venable pressed small delicate kisses on the side of your face while slowly torturing you.  " mina.. more plea-se" you whimpered, even without having to open your eyes, you knew you smirked at that request. Ms Venable cocked a button on the vibrator and increased the speed. Although ypur eyes we closed, at this point your eyes rolled back to the back of your head.  The 2nd speed  was a lot more stimulating, her patterns of circles on your clit was now faster. There was currently a wet patch created by Ms Venable on your underwear. As she continued her task of pleasuring you, a feeling of tightness made its way to your lowered stomach. " oh fuck mina- mina can I cum?" You didn't get a reply instead she turned the speed up a little more, your body twisted in both pain and pleasure, at this point  the slick you produced was running down on her once cleaned sheets. Ms Venable loved whenever you did that, it remains her how much of a filthy slut you are, but more importantly you were hers and not Chloe's. She was famed to let you forget. She knew your body better than you as you were about to go over the edge Ms Venable pulled the vibrator away.  

"MINA what the - " you stopped mid sentence to swallow and catch your breathe" what the fuck i didn't cum" you finished your complaint in annoyance and sexual frustration. You tried to close your legs to rub your thighs together for any relief but Ms Venable raised her thigh higher and pressed it against your senstive clit as a warning against doing that.  A whimper and a whine emitted from you. "Oh fuck please mina more..." her thigh was still raised high and in contact with your clit . Out of reflex you started to grind on her, however she didn't stop this action.  You were trying to chase your high that she she rudely denied a few seconds ago. After a minute of two of trying to cum the feeling of tightness made its way to your lower stomach once again.  Your movements were sloppier, faster and more desperate this time. Ms Venable pressed her leg further up and rough weigh cause your hand of attach itself to her knee that was currently wedge between your thighs.  You didn't know if to push her leg sweety or pull it closer to your needy pussy. " ah- oh fuck yes" you cried out, your high was approaching. A few more grinding and you would be over the edge.  Ms Venable  leaned closer into  your ear, the warm breathe of her words tickled you" did you think it'd be so easy?" with those cursed words she pulled her thigh lower and away from your clit. You didn't bother to hide your frustration, you were almost on the verge of tears. "Mina please please let me cum for you, I will only cum for you" you begged but your pleas feel onto deaf ears.  She hummed in feign acknowledgement as she reached from your now ruined underwear. You realised what her intentions are, so you helped her to removed your underwear but kicking it down your legs. Ms Venable was faster though , she removed and placed back her leg between your thighs before they could have even closed.  

The cursed yet blessed sound of the vibrator filled your ears.  You were eager yet you dreaded the fact that she was going to deny you for a 3rd time.  She lowered the vibrator to your entrance to gather more slick, after doing so she  began to trace figures eights and circles on your clit. Your body jumped and tried to move away from the vibrator but with Ms Venable firmly pressed against your back, that was not possible, " shh baby it's okay, shh I'm right here. " she cooed into your ear.  Your bottom lip wobbled from the intense pleasure and pain overtaking your body at the moment. Your 3rd orgasm was building but you were determined to cum. "Oh fuck Mina please I am sorry you win i will- I will -oh fuck yes more !-i will. Never talk to her again. Just Please plea-se  let me cum" you no longer tried to fight her down, you apologised hoping that she would let you cum. "Aww baby  did you think by saying sorry I'd let you cum? you were oh so very wrong." She punctuated the sentence with her biting down on the shell of my air.  Inciting further pain, but the thrill of being denied was even greater. She held the vibrator against your clit pushing it down and rubbing it as a fast paste, your climax was 1 figure eight away by she pulled it away.  Almost as if she knew your body better than yours which in this case she did.  Your hips were pushed up trying to regain contact with the vibrator. " No behave." she demanded as she took her hand and whacked the inner part of your thigh.

Your body was sensitive to every touch and caress. Ms Venable removed her legs from between your thighs,which caused your legs to close with a wet soft smack. The slick that you produced was now running down both your legs and was now smeared on the bed. Ms Venable loved the sight,she loved breaking you and mending you back together with love and affection. All for her to do it all over again. Your eyes fluttered open to take in the current state of the situation. Ms Venable was making her way to the end of the bed,carefully crawling her way up to you. She must have taken her pain medication because she was able to move a bit freely without wincing. She motioned for you to turn over flat on your back,as your legs trembled so did the smile on her face. "Now Y/N I am going to teach you a lesson about behaving" she took her hands and gently rested them on your knees, tracing random patterns as you tried to catch your breathe from her edging you a few seconds ago. " What's the safe word baby?" She titled her chin upwards and stared at you from  under the eyes. "fire mina" you whimpered and released a breathy exhaled. She pried open your legs,the abrupt action and the sudden coldness between your legs excited you even more. Your slit was met with her velvet tongue, she slowly licked a strip of your womanhood, gathering all the slick that you produced.  The moans that made it's  way from her lips vibrated through you. Out of reflex you clamped your legs closed but the digging of her nails on your inner thigh forbade you from doing so. With no WHERE to ground your self you entangled your fingers into her red lush hair,messing it in the process. Ms Venable didn't care she was determined to punish you. You felt your orgasms approaching,in the process of you euphoria you decided not to ask to cum. You didn't care if she edged you again. You just needed to cum. Therefore you stayed silent on the bed while your lover ate you out. You bite your lower lip to prevent anymore high  pitch moans from leaving. You were getting closer to your high,the way she slipped her tongue into your fold and took your clit into her mouth took you over the edge. You were already climaxing, a loud moan echoed into the room followed by the high arching of your back off of the bed. Ms Venable knew you were going to cum,the only reason you did was because she allowed it. After you came down from your climax, your heavy breathing was the only sound heard. You were sleepy and so you fluttered your eyes closed. In hope that Mina will do the after care routine,but Ms Venable didn't move.

She took four of her fingers and whacked your already sensitive pussy, as you let out  a loud yelp your eyes were open in shock. " ah ah ah my little slut. Did i say we were done?"  She pried open your legs once more. "No mina...but-" " But nothing y/n. You said that your body belongs to me Yes?" She scooted closer.  "Yes Ms Venable. " she smiled at your reply. "Good because I-"  she planted kiss on your clit "am-" a next kiss on your stomach "not-" she sucked on each of you erect nipples and after planted a kiss on each one. " done." She finished her sentence by kissing you full front on your lips. Your eyes automatically closed to savour the moment. As her tongue danced with yours the moans that each of you made were captured by each of your lips. It was a loving and caring kiss. After a few minutes of an intense make out she pulled away. You whimpered at the loss of her lips on your,Ms Venable silence your sounds of plea with a press of her index finger against your lips. " Now tell me y/n how long has you and Chloe been working together?" Confusion crept it's way on to your face." Uh...4 weeks why?" Your eyebrows were now furrowed. " no reason baby" she leaned down and ghosted a soft kiss upon your lips. Ms Venable dragged her finger down the length of your body and found it's way back to your pussy. Your body jerked at her actions. " this so where the fun begins" as she said that, she shoved her index finger into your tight core. Immediately your body accepted her and hugged her back. She chuckled lowly at your response. It wasn't a laugh of making fun of , no it was a laugh of her already knowing the outcome. " week 1-you couldn't even tolerate her, yet you still showed her around the office" she began to list.  But you were so eager for her to start finger fucking you with her fingers that you didn't even pay much attention to her. " week 2- you both started to eat lunch together in the break room" what that being said,she added a second finger. Your walls hugged her even tighter causing Ms Venable to moan at your body's response. " week 3- you exchanged phone numbers and started talking outside of work. IN. OUR. HOME" as she said those last   three words she shoved her 3rd finger into your stuffed cunt. Thrusting deeply as she did so. " ahh ah fuck Mina please-" you moaned in both pain and pleasure. You begged her but she ignored you." And week 4 - I walk into you office to find you in the arms of another woman" at this point her fourth finger and poking at your entrance. "oh mina please.. please I can't- thats too full" tears started to stream down your face. With only three fingers filling you Ms Venable still was determined to finish her punishment. " awww my baby slut, don't cry" she leaned over and licked away your tears that were streaming down your face," you're my good girl right?" She asked with worry. Of course you were her good girl,why did she need to ask?? you thought." Yes mina I am your good girl" you said worryingly. " so you will be good for me?" You nodded eagerly in reply with your bottom lip tucked away under your teeth. " Good." Ms Venable looked away from your hopeful face and turned to the sight of her fingers in your pussy. Your girlfriend gathered her saliva in her mouth and elegantly spat on her already occupied fingers. Her skilled fingers naked to coat the fourth finger, she looked at you , to which you gave her a small nod. She prodded at your entrance with her fourth finger and easily slipped it in. You were overwhelmed and filled with your girlfriend's fingers. Ever so slowly she began to move her fingers inside of You. " oh fuck Mina f-f" this caused Venable to stop her movements. " Fire?" She questioned worriedly. You groaned out of annoyance, "no mina,faster please. It feels good" with no time to waste Ms Venable quickly began to thrust her fingers in and out of your tight core. The feeling of a knot began to build in your stomach. The idea of being finger fucked by the most uptight person in the whole building made your heart blossom.

The way your walls pushed her fingers out and pulled her in of you at the same time almost sent you over the edge. Ms Venable knew you were going to finish any time soon. She curled her fingers and rubbed against your g-spot. " it's okay baby you can cum,cum for me my little one" your entire body convulsed as you released all over her hand. The feeling of pure ecstasy overcame your body. Ms Venable gently removed her fingers from your pussy, as she did so, more of your cum spilt over onto the bed. With maintained eye contact she took two of her fingers into her mouth a sucked it clean. You gave her a weak smile,you were tired and she knew it. Before you could have dozed off she brought the other two fingers for you to clean off. As you had your girlfriend's fingers in your mouth She spoke," after this i am sure everyone in the building knows we are a thing now" a small giggle left your throath. Ms Venable made motion to get off of the bed,but you grabbed her wrist telling her to stop." Stay a little bit please " you mewled at her. She rolled her eyes and smirked," only for a little bit then we have to get you cleaned up" she stated. You opened your arms for her to cuddle up beside you, and nodded your head in agreement. "Y/n promise me your won't talk to Chloe anymore" Ms Venable kissed the top of your head awaiting for you response. "Yes mina I promise,anything for you." With your head resting against her you heard the low "hmm" that rumbled in her chest. " Good. Because you're mine. I don't like to share" and with that statement the grip on your waist got firmer as you dozed off to sleep in the arms of your lover.

[tripstaysnoided]

Flow Just Like Water

Story and writing-related transparency update and my many shames...

The Question on Everyone’s Mind

“Hey you haven’t updated No Stars over Uptown in almost a year...”

Hmm, I hate it when you’re right. (This section has been rewritten ad-nauseam to curb back the bitchiness by the way)

So back in early/mid 2018, the idea was to divorce Uptown from a person who influenced it (and myself) heavily. She was my most important audience member, the closest friend I ever had, and unfortunately someone who used her power to bully, ostracize, and hurt others with my help. I cut contact when the hurt + some self-awareness finally reached me. Apologies were made and I feel like my work will never be done with it, but there was still Uptown.

Between censored comments, entirely recasting Axel’s save, different plot threads, and a load of disclaimers, there was nothing that would scrub her influence from the story. There was no way to cleanly drop everything because of how deep her influence went. It disgusted me to look back at it, and I had to private the blog because I feared what it endorsed, even if just in the past.

I pulled back from that sims writing community. I had its main thread on the Official Forums removed too (I guess if that was a mystery to anyone). It was a surrender that I never wanted to do, but I had it in my mind that if I was gone, then she wouldn’t be there either. Uptown became this cursed item, and as I quietly retired it, I noticed that she went quieter too. Not gone, but enough to make me sleep easier at night and even occasionally say hello to old friends.

And I hope deep in my heart that no one else is getting hurt in my place, but now this is gonna haunt me all day huh!

The two paths forward...

1) Complete Uptown rewrite that I’ve been threatening everyone with all year. While it won’t ever be clean because I can’t undo time, I do have a sound outline for a story that is much more true to my actual vision and how I’ve evolved, with a few necessary boundaries in place that are going to be there for all stories moving forward: no more casting calls and no more collaborative efforts. I am not going to open myself up to this happening again, even if the people have changed.

2) Same as above, but I continue the original Uptown as a favor to loyal readers alongside the rewrite. I would try to put the effort into it that I initially did, but with no promises on an update schedule and no advertising. I did ask myself “is there Patreon but without pledging money, just the private posts function” but it could operate as part of a private forum, a members-only part of a website, etc.

Also readers of the original would be beholden to a rule of “don’t spoil the rewrite for new readers, c’mon guys”. I mean, not really, but it is a good courtesy to extend to people.

Priority on this isn’t high but you at least will see what is!

I will probably make the blog public again either way due to the many broken links on my Tumblr but we’ll see. There are other things to deal with as I shall list!

Where Life’s Been Regardless

Been spending more time with my grandpa every weekend. Life’s pretty good and he’s warming up to my dogs.

Shiny New Webbed Site

Cucumber Fields Forever is a site I own now. We have a full domain, cucumberfieldsforever.com, a blog with one post, and the framework needed to host stories the way I want to and still through WordPress. The functionality of likes, comments, and following should still be the same but you know...I’ll take feedback too...

The main blog still has an undefined purpose though I do have drafts sitting around about:

The maybe/maybe not hoax band that was on the Metal Archives and the history of Funeral Doom Metal.

The curious case of when Sims 4 babies get their genetics and my only collaboration (read: was talking about it with a friend and might quote her if needed, it’s actually a bit of a doozy)

Amazon.com’s fake dried udon noodles, an actual issue by the way.

Things I’m reading! (This’d be a monthly feature if so)

For the sake of unity, I am thinking of solutions for hosting old and shameful content there including Uptown and for the real fans in my followers feed, Eight Cicadas...a world I totally have plans for too (not really). I don’t want them to be front-and-center, and that’s why I mentioned forums/members-only content. I finally have that power! Maybe.

Ooooh but what are the costs? Not too much to handle, that’s what. 😉 (Like really, I don’t need any hand-wringing about this, I can manage my finances)

Project Queue (In Order of Confirmedness)

Outrun the Scythe: have you seen me post out-of-context Sims 3 pictures? Did you want more? Did you hope it was Linda in Custody? If the answers are yes, yes, and “meh, whatever you want”, then you’re in luck.

Outrun the Scythe is a Sims 3-based tale of a young gay man and his zombie grandma, as they are both offered separate roles of being the undying intermediaries between the world of humans and the influence of a race of space daemons. It’s pretty familiar if you’ve been following me pre-Uptown, taking some cues from stories I’ve kept under lock and key like Eight Cicadas, The Chains of Lyra, and the not-so-locked-up Ironstar Immortals (of which Outrun is just the direct sequel to sans any retconning...ah the smell of early 2013 and performative heterosexuality)

Ah, back to my roots.

It’s a hybrid of gameplay, story, and lore about my little race of daemons with a lot of my own idiosyncrasies that I’m not really ashamed of: basing it off a super-polarizing Sims 3 challenge from a site I moderate, using a lot of EA’s pre-made townies and their genes, lots of unnecessary posemaking, stupid references. It’s a comfort to have in my roster.

While the first few chapters are in the middle of revision, I have around six in the queue and will be making this public when I have ten. I’m guessing December then?

Undocumented Black Widow Challenge: I just did this for fun/forum kudos (yes, in fact I have joined many forums), there was going to be a short story but it was quickly becoming something against my code of ethics. I mean, sims die and all. (read: I had to choose between “heterosexual widow” and “widow with some same-sex marriages that still end in tragedy, reinforcing negative stereotypes to the public for the sake of me not getting bored and detached during gameplay” so there were no good choices. Except for her affair with the mailwoman, 10/10) I hope to finish this before October ends and get my medal on Boolprop, I’m pretty far through it all. I might upload the sims involved anyways. This is for TS4.

I mentioned it because it’s keeping me busy. But not for long!

NaNoWriMo 2020: Dipping my toes into that again! It’s not sims-related, just a tale of lesbians, nosy neighbors, a haunted beach house, and some light murder and kidnapping. And I actually got my brother to scout out locations for me this weekend. If there’s any demand, I can share chapters as the rough drafts are finished, especially for the sake of proofreading.

Not saying I’m publishable, but wouldn’t it be nice? Will keep me occupied for much of November.

Untitled “Dear Diary” Challenge: Tired of feeling left out of the fun on the Boolprop forums, their “Dear Diary” challenge was the one that appealed to me the most on first glance. Why? Probably once I found an idea that let it be set in the early/mid-2000′s to begin with and explore some interesting characters through diary entries (which I have mixed feelings on as a literary device but I think that’s just me saying “well I didn’t like Dracula”, yes you get bonus points for writing it like a diary)

Also writing is the one skill I’m good at across multiple games. Wanna hear me bitch about the cooking skill tree in TS4 or riding in TS3? I’ll spare you.

I guess I could have included “spending time on Boolprop with old and new friends” in where my life has been. It’s a nice lil community if also a place with its own idiosyncrasies as well. So it doesn’t feel like I’m promoting another community if/when I make a thread there for Outrun the Scythe, I want to have a couple chapters of this ready to go by Outrun’s release, though it’s not gonna be the highest priority compared to it nor as long because I think I can blast through the gameplay quickly.

This one will be played in TS4 due to it having the easiest writing skill/I dunno variety is the spice of life. And hopefully another December release.

Defunded or Forgotten?: Oh shit I actually released stuff in 2020 and told no one? I do have a “mortifying ordeal of being known” sinking feeling whenever I get a site hit because it’s not my best work (but good enough) and veered sharply into issues I may be over my head in, though I try to be a good noodle with research and listening. Maybe hiding is bad after all.

Being based off a very flawed and incomplete Sims 3 challenge I found in the annals of the Official Forums, there’s a lot of behind-the-scenes work just making sense of things. And I’m scared of working on reconstructing the house but I haven’t abandoned the project yet. The story has eight chapters so far and is pretty game-based with some additions here and there. Scared of how long it could be though!

Date for this unknown.

Untitled Sunlit Tides Decadynasty: another year-long abandoned TS3 project with a much stupider reason why. Last update was about Hua getting ready for her wedding, and I wanted to do some poses for a bait-and-switch wedding chapter because to put it mildly, her real one was an absolute disaster.

Blender decided to fuck up its interface again, I got discouraged (this probably does account for some of the Uptown delays too), and when I decided to plow forward, it was for other projects instead.

Meanwhile I played all the way to Gen 5′s teenhood and the only thing stopping me is time (it takes almost 30 minutes to load the file right now, though they’ll be looking at moving towns in a couple gens) and maybe fear of the Logic skill.

Date for this also unknown but it’s easy to pump out updates once I’m in the groove for it. My third heir had a difficult life so maybe I’m just trying to bury it.

Also I just noticed the view count there was really good and probably because I linked it here on Tumblr last year. Thank you so much guys. I can’t really fret over views on Carl’s forum these days thanks to the years-long death spiral pretty much every forum anywhere has been riding on. But it’s a nice surprise. And it’s an alright little challenge recap to read during your lunch break or whatever.

The Wawas

I figured I’d end on the real news everyone wants! Both the chihuahuas are a year and a half now and reached their adult size around a year ago. For the most part, they are happy and healthy dogs.

[kakarmasobessioncorner]

Hope your Holiday has been swell my Truce target @lexiepiper ! Here I have written you a lil something for your gift, if you have an A03 I’d love to know the username so I can properly link the fic to you on the site when I upload it. ^^  I hope you like it. <3

                Can we Bridge this Divide Born of Lies?

  Warnings: Alcohol use (just minor thing)   Characters: Vlad Masters, Danny Phantom/Fenton

It was a chilly Friday evening in Winconsin, the perfect temperature for Danny. If he was out flying for any other reason than what he was he’d likely be in a good mood, however even the whisperings of the approaching winter in the air couldn’t distract him from the worry of what awaited him.

What he was doing was probably a really bad idea. Disastrously bad. Almost stepping into a questionable portal that wasn’t working for reasons unknown bad. 

He was off to visit Vlad. Of his own free will.

Sam and Tucker had tried to convince him to at least wait so they could come as backup in case things went south, but he had a nagging feeling in the back of his head that this was an issue better dealt with sooner than later.

“Hey Fruitloop! You home?” 

He didn’t bother to knock as he just flew right in through the door, carefully going room to room, wary of setting off any alarms as he looked for the other. Calling out as he went.

“Fruuuuuitloop! I’m not here to fight, I gotta talk to you about something!”

‘Okay maybe calling him a name he hates isn’t a good idea for a peaceful visit...’

The thought only paused him for a moment before he continued his search calling out for the other. It took him ten minutes of going from room to room to find the elder halfa. Surprised to see him with several empty bottles of something that looked like it may have been alcohol scattered around his feet and several more still full on the table next to him.

The charged Ectoshot on the other hand, wasn’t so surprising. “Daniel, what are you doing here.” He looked thoroughly unimpressed. “More importantly, what do I have to do to make you leave.” 

“Now there’s no need to start shooting Plasmius, and I could be asking you the same thing. That doesn’t look healthy.” He knew that Vlad had been acting off the last few months but he wasn’t expecting this. “Are you okay?”

The look he got was concerningly lacking the normal fire.

“Daniel just tell me why you’re here. As you can see I’m clearly busy, and I know you don’t really care beyond your ‘hero complex’.” 

Slowly Danny drifted to the ground, he and Vlad may be enemies but the scene in front of him was just screaming to his obsession. It felt so wrong to see his confident and powerful nemesis looking so empty and run down. He had seen that he’d been less and less into their fights, getting the feeling almost like they were just running through a script at this point. Still, he didn’t suspect it was this bad. “That’s not true.”

The elder scoffed, going to take another swig from the bottle in his hand. “Please, your hatred of me is pretty clear, and even I can admit, warranted-”

“I never hated you!” The interruption stunned him into silence, a shocked look on his face and bottle still halfway to his mouth. 

“I never hated you, I hated what you did and how you acted, but I could never bring myself to hate you.” This wasn’t why he came here, yet he couldn’t seem to stop himself. What felt like a pull from his very core was pulling this confession out of him. It had been a long time coming and at last it seemed the final straw was found.  “How could I? You made everything look easy while I struggled! The only other one like me was so cool and made fights look like you barely winded when I was putting my all into it.”

He took a deep breath, collecting himself from the sudden outburst flopping down in a seat across from the other. 

“I didn’t come here to fight Vlad, and I didn’t come here because of some ‘hero complex’ that I do not have.” A small pause before he added in a voice barely above a whisper. “I’m tired of fighting. Will you just, hear me out? And stop trying to drink yourself into a stupor while I do so?” 

It was a few tense moments of silence before he got his reply.

“Very well little badger. You have my undivided attention, and I was never going to get that drunk. Our ghost side makes it so alcohol has a much harder time affecting us, and I always had a high tolerance even before that. This is nothing.”

“Good, tha- wait hold on what? Really?”

“Yes Daniel. Our advanced healing also fights it off faster than a normal human, but less then a full ghost who would be unable to get drunk off of human drinks at all. Rather useful at times and assures you’ll never have a hangover.”

“Oh that’s going to be so fun to abuse in college if I get that far...”

Vlad cocked an eyebrow. “Didn’t you have something you wanted to say?”

“Right! Right, just uhh,” Danny sat up after a moment of hesitation, pulling his backpack he’d been wearing to sit in front of him.  “This may poke at some old wounds… but it’s for a good reason, you just have to hold out!”

“That’s not exactly the most promising start, but fine, go ahead. I'll try to resist shooting you.”

“Gee thanks.” But he didn’t press the matter, just taking a moment to collect his thoughts, “Okay, well, you said that after your accident Mom and Dad never even tried to visit you right?”

He got a dirty glare at that question. “Yes, how could I ever forget Daniel?”

“Sorry, but that didn’t line up with their side of the story!” He opened his bag and pulled out a folder, rifling through the surprising number of pages in it. “See, they were going through some old albums a few days ago and found some old pictures from college. I was being held hostage as they reminisced, but noticed as they were talking Dad got sad mentioning how they tried to visit but the nurse turned them away saying for the first while that they couldn’t visit, and later that you didn’t want visitors.”

“Well your father is an idiot-”

“Shut up, I’m not done.” The teen interrupted. “I questioned that, and Mom confirmed it. So I did some digging with some help and…”

He pulled a memory stick out of the bag and held it out.

“We found the security footage someone attempted to delete, and it confirms it.”

“You… hacked into the hospital records…”

“Well no… I didn’t… but that’s not important.” Danny again interrupted, ignoring the dirty look. “You can get mad at me for the invasion of your privacy when I’m done talking okay? Okay.” He waited for any other comments, and when none came nodded to himself. “Okay, but yeah we checked and thought it was weird. If they were telling the truth that they visited, and you were telling the truth that they seemingly abandoned you, why would some random nurse stop clearly concerned friends from seeing their friend? Then I saw her name.” He pulled a couple pages out of the file and handed them over. Inside on the first sheet was a bunch of information on a woman named Celesta Peneppor, with bright red hair and striking green eyes she almost seemed to be smirking in her photo.

“I swear I’d seen her somewhere before and turns out I was right. She didn’t bother to disguise herself and her name was a freaking anagram!”

The next page was surprisingly professional looking despite been clearly made by the trio of teens, full of information on a ghost by the name of Penelope Spectra. “She’s a monster who feeds on misery, and mentioned in one fight I had with her that ‘Halfas have such potent feelings’ and I didn’t question it at the time, but this does make that make more sense.”

The teen folded his hands in his lap as he watched Vlad look though the sheets he was given, waiting for a reply.

“Why did you come tell me this Daniel.” 

The room was silent long enough that Vlad was going to talk again, to tell him to just leave, when Danny beat him to it and spoke back up. 

“You looked so happy.” He was quiet, looking down at his folded hands. “In the pictures. I found out your hate was directed at the wrong person, and I can’t blame you for some of how you’ve been before since I know that if I was in your place, losing those I cared about in a painful sudden way, I would be a mess too… or worse…”

Vlad looked for a moment like he was going to interrupt, but Danny just kept on talking. Looking up from his hands and locking eyes with him. The teen's eyes looking far too mature for someone his age, eyes that knew more than most.

“Betrayal and loss can make even the most morally just person into a monster, but they didn’t betray you. They thought you hated them for what happened and that’s why you apparently had the nurse turn them away, and yet they still kept trying to keep in contact because they cared despite Spectra’s keeping them away. They were, especially Dad, so happy when you came back into contact. But now you know who’s really at fault, and you can direct your anger at the right person who deserves it.”

His voice had turned almost desperately hopeful at the end, eyes so heavy and tired.

"It's not that simple, little badger." 

"Why not? Can't you at least try? What do you have to lose? Your pride? I beat that into the dust in our fights all the time!" His core ached in a desperation he hadn’t been expecting, the pull from it making him feel like he had to make sure Vlad at least tried.  "All you have is things to gain from it. Like your friends back...and..."

He stood up, walking up to Vlad with his head held high and hand held out, as unwavering as the determined look in his eyes.

"A truce? Or hopefully even an alliance?"

It was silent for a few moments as if the elder wasn’t going to reply, so he added softly.

"Please. Just try."

He put down the drink, and for a moment Danny thought he was going to shoot at him to make him leave, but instead both his hands came out to grasp his outstretched one. 

"You're not the only one tired of fighting my dear boy."

                                                     “I’ll try.”

                                                ~~~~~~~~~~~

When Danny eventually left after a while of them talking about the best way to go about his ‘trying’ to reconnect with his old friends, something the boy seemed to have put considerable thought into and was dead serious about supporting, Vlad slumped. Running his hand through his hair.

That had not been what he was expecting when he felt the other's signature entering his mansion. He’d thought the younger Halfa had been coming to blame him for something that was going wrong back in Amity Park.  Not...whatever that was.

“I hope you're not expecting anything immediate. My own long held grudges aside, they don’t think anything was wrong. Your bumbling idio-” A glare from Danny had him stop to correct himself. “Jack, may not notice if I try to act more civil around him, but Maddie certainly would notice and likely get suspicious.”  

The teen chuckled. “I mean she definitely noticed that you were acting like a creep-tastic fruitloop before, so that would be a big change.”

“Precisely, and I’d rather avoid being accused of being overshadowed. Their weapons do hurt after all.”

“Yeah you don’t have to remind me…” Of course he didn’t. Danny was shot at far more often than he was, more often then he really wanted to consider. “But there’s a simple solution.”

“Do tell.”

The teen took a seat, not even bothering to go back to sit in the seat, just letting himself float up cross-legged.

“Have you ever seen any cheesy reality shows?”

“Of course not.” Vlad Scoffed, looking downright insulted. 

“Guess even you aren’t that evil… but yeah so Jazz likes to watch it to analyze the characters and even to me it’s really obvious what the problem is.” Something was off, and he had a feeling there was more to it than that. “Just, tell them. Tell them the truth.”

Danny very quickly got a look that told him what the other thought of that idea, namely how stupid he thought it was.

“I thought the goal was to not get shot.”

“I don’t mean the whole half-ghost thing! I mean the ‘I thought you abandoned me so was a bit of a dick’. Just apologize for being off around them and admit you want to try again if they do still want to be friends. They’ll freak out thinking you hated them, act confused, and all is good!”

He leaned back doing a little flip in the air with a quiet ‘Tada!’.

It was an admittedly decent idea all things considered once it was talked out and it was worded better...mostly considering who it was from, but it would be hard to push aside his pride enough to try.

However after the teen had left, Vlad noticed something odd.

For years he was bothered by the little nagging feeling, a feeling that he instinctively knew once his core had developed was from his obsession begging to be indulged. He had learnt that as a Halfa he wasn’t as strongly driven by his obsession as full ghosts, and even less than Daniel he’d later noticed. He could ignore it, but it was like an itch you can't scratch that only got worse the longer he ignored it.

It was when it reached a simply maddening level that he decided to try and go after his revenge at last. The beginnings of planning finally, finally, seemed to scratch the itch. He was working towards his obsession and that alone was enough to help lessen the pull, but it was also like a drug. He wanted more, and so worked harder and became more focused. He knew that…

It took him awhile to realize though. 

A while of causing harm and driving away the only other of his kind in an obsession driven case of tunnel vision he only broke free of when it stopped helping his obsession. Stopped feeding that drive and just leaving him tired, and alone.

Alone. Alone.

It hurt, and the need to feed his obsession eventually snapped him out of his craze and made him realize he was alone and that he was in no way making progress to the family he so wanted to love.

He was tired.

Still he continued in his ways, trapped in a routine that no longer helped him and just put him further and further from any chance to be happy. Only getting the smallest spark of joy from his fights with Danny though the bantering, and even that was utterly eviscerated once it was over, only to be replaced with a pain from acting against his obsession. 

This was different though, for the first time in ages it faded almost completely. Just from talking with the other halfa peacefully he felt amazing, even more so than when he first started working to take Maddie as his own. 

Daniel actually cared. He didn’t hate him and wanted to be allies.

All he had to do was let go of the hate he’d been harboring for years… hate that was apparently misplaced. It would just take him putting aside his pride for a little to do so, but ghosts were naturally prideful things and that was a ghostly trait he had picked up, be it from his contamination or just his rise to power. It was a strong part of him and he was loathe to go through with the blow this would land on it.

However his core screamed to follow through with this chance for fulfillment at last. 

He had two weeks to decide if he would go through with Danny’s plan.

Two very long weeks to argue with himself he wasn’t looking forward to.

Only time would tell.

[inkedcinders]

Coming Out

Coming Out

           It was a fairly normal day, slightly overcast but hot, not that it mattered when you spent all of your time indoors as answer was want to do. How else was he supposed to keep his pasty complexion? Plus, he’d finally gotten air conditioning, courtesy of a friendly donation of the woman sitting next to him.

           Not that he had a choice in the matter, so it was more of a hostile donation.

           Sitting next to him on the couch was his assuredly not-a-girlfriend, sigma, known to the rest of the world as Natalie Abela, daughter to the CEO of AbelaTech. She was insanely wealthy by extension of her father, and so incredibly smart she finished high school two years early and went straight into university. Despite this, she was still so under stimulated intellectually that she’d taken on part-time hacking gigs.

           She hadn’t been terribly well-known at the time, keeping herself to small jobs that she could do from home or a library, trying to keep a low, anonymous profile. It wasn’t like she needed the money, after all, or the fame. It was just a way to pass the time. It most likely would have continued that way if he hadn’t tried to access AbelaTech’s servers through a backdoor route that turned out to be her personal files, and she’d counter-hacked him in response.

           His roommate Buster still bore the mental scars of what she’d uploaded to answers’ ‘ware.

           Answer wasn’t entirely certain how they’d gone from antagonists to occasionally working together, but it was how she started doing the bigger jobs, going on-site and sometimes even shooting things.

           And she was still getting perfect A’s in school.

           From there they’d become friends, with her foisting a cat on him that he’d named Tubby-tubb-tubbs to her annoyance, but conceded was better than “Cat”. The orange fuzzball was a useless mouser but loved to cuddle, and she paid for her upkeep, and he was still a little afraid of sigma through proxy of her father, so he’d just let it slide.

           He was even less certain how they’d become lovers. It just sort of... happened. And then they’d said it was a bad idea, and should never do it again. And then it happened again not long after. A few more rounds of this and they’d given up and just accepted it was happening.

           She was quite insistent that they were not going out, which hurt a little bit for reasons he didn’t want to think about.

           21 now, she’d completed her bachelors and moved on to a masters degree, still being annoyingly vague about what she was majoring in, despite a noncommittal hand wave and “just computer stuff”. She kept him weirdly distant from her life.

           It kind of made him feel like a secret mistress or something.

           She was working on schoolwork, he was doing the boring part of shadow running: sorting through his messages and paperwork. Sometimes sigma did it for him for fun because she was insane, but today it was his burden to bear.

           Sorting through a few messages on a job call, he made a derisive noise at the contents of one, emphatic enough to get the tiny hacker to look up at him.

           “What is it?” She asked.

           “Ah, just some dumb fuck who’s pitching a fit because there’s a known technomancer in a job call,” he muttered, rolling his eyes.

           Her head tilted slightly, assessing. “You’re okay with technomancers?”

           He gave her a look. “Why wouldn’t I be? They’re just people, right? You have to be stupid to get your panties in a twist over a dude who can hack with his brain. Or people with magic. Or the metahuman variants. Lotta stupid people.”

           “There are a few,” she remarked dryly. “I thought a lot of hackers didn’t like them because they were gonna put them out of a job, or whatever.”

           He gave a short laugh. “There aren’t that many technomancers, and not all of them want to be hackers, either,” he said. “And just because they’re technomancers doesn’t mean they’re gonna be good at it. Not many technomancers are better than me.”

           “I’m better than you,” she said mildly, turning back to her work.

           “Well, yeah, you’re better than me, but...” he trailed off as his brain caught up with what she said. He shot her a look, but she was studiously working on her school assignment, not looking at him, and it was difficult to determine what she was thinking. Did she just..?

           That wasn’t necessarily an admission to being a technomancer. It was a pretty ambiguous statement. She might just have been throwing shade by saying the girl six years his junior was better at him than hacking and so didn’t believe his claim that most technomancers weren’t at his level.

           Then again, sigma was a master at being coy. She was naturally rather shy, despite all appearances, and she lived under such scrutiny that she had gotten very good at ambiguous statements that could be taken multiple ways and spun in the way that caused the least amount of fuss. She could be testing the waters, see how he recreated to the idea.

           Because despite everything, technomancers were still under threat, even if things were better than at emergence.

           Answer decided it was best not to say anything. It was a touchy subject for a lot of people, especially technomancers, and if she wasn’t feeling safe enough to just out and say it, he didn’t want to press the issue. If the situation blew up, he’d deal with it then.

           Maybe not the best policy, but these weren’t the decisions he was really made for.

           Sigma did some hand gestures to deal with whatever she was doing in AR, then said, “To the question you’re dying to ask, the answer is yes, I am.”

           Well, that was refreshingly direct. Looking closer, he noticed that her tan skin had gone pale, body tense, hands slightly trembling. Not as unaffected as she was pretending to be.

           “You should really keep quiet about that,” he said finally. “Technomancers just... disappear sometimes, and I don’t think even your father’s money and influence will help with that.”

           She shot him an annoyed look. “Answer, I have been a technomancer for the last five years, I know a thing or two about “keeping quiet”!”

           “Five years?” He repeated, incredulous, and then suddenly so many strange things that had happened over the years clicked into place.

           Then he couldn’t help grinning. “Wait, if you’re saying this now, it means you trust me, don’t you?” He couldn’t help but feel a little bit excited by it; she was actually allowing him a little closer.

           She didn’t quite look at him, mumbling, “Maybe a little... I have been letting you have sex with me for the last three years...”

           He made a derisive noise. “Sex has nothing to do with trust.”

           “That explains so much about you.”

[mysticsparklewings]

Colored Pencil Workshop (Free Resource!)

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Graphic Design is such a chore sometimes. :P So what is this, exactly? This was inspired by Coloring Bliss on YouTube, who uses the sheet that inspired this one for her colored pencil reviews. Since the moment I saw it I was hoping she'd eventually release it for others to use because it seemed so thorough and useful. I remember a while back in a video she mentioned they were thinking about making it available on their website, but that was a while ago and I was unsure if it ever came to fruition and also got a little impatient; So I decided to make my own.  This technically works out a little better since I was able to customize it to my personal needs. And I did specifically go out of my way to make mine different in some aspects to hopefully stay out of trouble. Likewise and also because if they ever do release theirs to the public it will likely only be for the "Premium" or higher members on their website, I'm posting mine for free. Now, the above image, as I said, was custom made to suit my own needs, and I'll go pretty blow-by-blow over what's here and my intention in a second, but just in case, if you hit the download button on the right, in the .ZIP file I've also included a "blank" version that does not have the Tan/Gray Paper slots filled in and named and the testing boxes at the bottom do not have labels, so that if you so desire you can better customize it to fit your own needs, too. My major rules for either version (the regular one or the "blank" one) are: 1. Please DO NOT remove the "Created by MysticSparkleWings" Mark 2. Please DO NOT re-upload or redistribute the empty worksheets without my explicit written permission (If you've say, filled one out for a review/blog post/etc. and want to upload it, that's fine as long as you follow Rule 1) Now then, as for my intention of how you would actually use this (or at least how I'm going to use it): Up at the top, left to right, we have the "Color Samples & Mixing Test" and instructions, and an area for information about the pencils. Hopefully, these are pretty self-explanatory. The Color Samples I personally will be picking based on my Pocket Color Wheel for the Primaries (Red, Yellow, Blue), and then using those three to mix the Secondaries (Orange, Purple, Green). This tests both mixing ability and color matching/how the color choices for that particular set were to a certain extent, and when completed will also be a nice pop of color to the page . Then you would give that test a Star Rating. Same with Packaging Appearance of the pencils under the information section; I used Star Ratings because that just makes more sense to me to be able to quickly compare different sets, as well as it might be helpful when recommending pencils to others or writing a review. Also, I will note before moving on that by "Available Colors" I meant "Number of Colors Available," but the former fit better both in terms of space and in terms of how it sounds to me. It wouldn't make sense to try and write literally every single color name on that one little line. Oh, and the "Core" line is for the size of the core and stuff like if it's wax or oil-based. Moving on, we have what I call a "Pigment Check" even though it's not labeled, the Softness/Durability Test, and a box for Notes. The Pigment check is meant to test how well the white pencil works if the set came with one (which is particularly important to me), how true of a black the black is (again, using my Pocket Color Wheel), and to see an example of how well they show up on my toned tan/toned gray papers, each section with its own star rating. (I didn't just fill in a solid color; I grabbed pieces of the paper in Photoshop from scanned pictures I had so they would at least visually mimic the look/texture so I don't have to go chop off triangles every time I need to test some pencils) The Softness/Durability Test is a slight modification of Coloring Bliss's "Core Usage Test." It's meant to provide an opportunity to judge how soft the core of the pencil is, if it has any issues with breaking, and it'll give an idea of how layering works with them. The idea is to do three layers; light pressure, medium pressure, and hard pressure, to fill in the circle completely. This also provides an opportunity to see how long the pencil can go before it needs sharpening and then how it sharpens, and then all of that gets another star rating. (And me personally I might end up writing over top of the finished test with a Gel Pen as a test of how they work over the pencils, as I've had issues with that in the past and couldn't manage to squeeze a dedicated Gel Pen Test area in this already packed sheet). The Notes area is for things you might notice during testing, additional tests you might have, any star ratings you need to explain to yourself, etc. Stuff like that. I wanted to have at least a moderate bit of space for that, just in case. Then we have the erasing test, which is explained on the sheet pretty well, I think. I didn't give this one a star rating partly because it was a little tight and also because I didn't think it was necessary. No colored pencils erase perfectly, and generally speaking, results will vary from color to color. And for me personally, I just need to see how well (or not) it lifts off to determine if that's something I need to be worried about or not. The "Overall Rating" Is technically next as we move down the page; And again I think this should be pretty self-explanatory. This is essentially what you would rate them on a site like Amazon, though there are two ways you could go about getting this rating: 1. Be like me and just go with your gut after taking all of the tests and information into consideration, or 2. Average all the other star ratings together. At the bottom, we have arguably the most important section: All the other tests. For me, I have one for layering, blending, blending with the Derwent Blender Pencil, blending with a Colorless Alcohol Marker blender (my choice being the Prismacolor Brush one), and an area to test water resistance; All things I've found myself doing repeatedly on scrap paper. This way I'll have all the tests in one dedicated place where I can refer back to them at any time. But you can write in whatever tests you want on the blank version since I figured not everyone would want to test the same things as me. (This was actually a sticking point with me on Coloring Bliss's; If that version was released there were some tests included that I just simply wouldn't use because they aren't techniques I practice, etc.) I think this will be a good resource for myself to figure out what pencils do what things best, and in theory, I'll be wasting less scrap paper and time trying to test things as they come up. Plus, I'll have more of a standard when doing pencil reviews. (Though all of the tests are based on things I was already checking for; that'll just make it easier to compare and to refer back to after I've not used them for a while). It took my three days of on-and-off working and tweaking, but I think it was worth it. Although if my printer would just print the thing the way I wanted it to begin with, I could've been done a little bit sooner.  Which is my excuse for why the overall placement may be a bit off/weird. But hopefully, you guys can negotiate with your printer better than I can with mine. Like I really don't understand; I designed the thing on an 8.5"x11" canvas, so in theory there should have been literally no issue, but it kept trying to give it a border so I had to keep adjusting it bit by bit to get it to print in the right place, and I still haven't gotten it exactly perfect. But I did manage to get it close enough that I'm going to live with it until my knowledge of how to adjust the printer settings and what size canvas to use to manipulate it into printing correctly expands.   But hey, it's done and now we can all test out our colored pencils to our hearts content ____ Artwork © me, MysticSparkleWings ____ Where to find me & my artwork: My Website | Commission Info + Prices | Ko-Fi | dA Print Shop | RedBubble |   Twitter | Tumblr | Instagram

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Who is Abigail Elphick? Wiki, Biography, Age, Family, Video, Instagram

Abigail Elphick Wiki - Abigail Elphick Biography

Abigail Elphick is the New Jersey woman nicknamed "Victoria's Secret Karen." Video of an incident involving her at the Short Hills Mall has gone viral. The 25-year-old woman was seen in a video charging a black woman, Ijeoma Ukenta, and later claiming to be the victim. Ukenta posted videos of the incident on TikTok and YouTube. On Twitter, some people criticized the Millburn Police Department and mall security for not doing more to protect Ukenta. “There were many egregious violations of her rights and general welfare by both the Millburn Police Department and Short Hills Mall security. Abigail Elphick should have been arrested {and still needs to be arrested} and at least charged with assault and intent. of theft, ”wrote one Twitter user. NJ.com reported that the incident began when Ukenta, 38, of Newark asked Elphick to move six feet away from her. At one point, Elphick appears to raise his hand towards Ukenta in the video. The police report says this caused Elphick "to have a panic attack, at which point she followed her to stop recording her," according to the news site. The police did not make any arrests. "Pending further review, the Millburn Police Department believes that our officers acted in a professional and competent manner to defuse the situation and restore calm and order," the police statement reads to NJ.com. “I was banned from Tik Tok, yet everyone else was able to tell my story. I'm traumatized, ”Ukenta wrote on Twitter. Victoria's Secret issued a statement saying that “the safety of associates and customers is our top priority and we are committed to creating a safe and welcoming environment for all. The video taken at our store is disturbing and we have launched a full investigation. Our associate followed our protocols and immediately called our Emergency Operations Center, as well as mall security, to provide support during the altercation between our clients. We are dedicated to continuing this critical conversation and demonstrating our commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion through our actions and our words. "

Abigail Elphick Age

Abigail Elphick is 25 years old.

Elphick can be seen in uploading videos

The video series begins with Elpnick charging at Ukenta and trying to hit her and the camera. She backs off when Ukenta says, “My God. Oh, Lord. See this? Oh, Lord. I never thought anything like this would happen to me. She tried to run and hit. "Elphick then crouches down, holding her head in her crying hands, and says," No, I didn't. "She says," I don't want to be recorded. " Ukenta tells other customers and workers: “Did you see that? … Karen had a nervous breakdown. She tried to hit me. "Elphick again states that she did not try to hit Ukenta and says," I don't want to be recorded, "while crying. While Elphick continues to cry, Ukenta, holding a coupon in front of the camera, says:" I tried to come to get my free panties. "Elphick then yells," Why aren't you defending me? I just don't want to be recorded. " Elphick then yells and yells, "Don't record my mental breakdown, please. Please please please." The second video begins with Elphick lying on the ground, screaming and kicking. "She's recording me. Tell her to stop," she squeals. "You keep lying saying I'm threatening you, so I'm filming to protect myself," Ukenta replies. She doesn't seem to be very close to Elphick. The video shows Elphick yelling and running towards Ukenta, who was filming the scene. Ukenta kept repeating that she was concerned that the police would believe Elphick if she claimed that Ukenta attacked her when the video shows Elphick charging at Ukenta and Ukenta doing nothing more than recording the scene. "She's trying to attack me, no, no, no," Ukenta says at one point. "Once the law comes, who are they going to believe?" She says that she is concerned that the police will believe Elphick about Ukenta because Elphick is white and Ukenta is black. Elphick, who makes a phone call at one point, yells, “Stop her so she doesn't record. ... She is recording my mental breakdown. ... My heart races ". Ukenta narrates: "She's lying on the phone. I don't give a damn if she's sick. I'm worried about myself. This is real. This is really happening to me. She's on the phone with the police for me and she was chasing me around the damn thing. store ". At another point, Ukenta says, "I just came to get a free panty, that's all.… This lady chasing me. Now she's calling the police. I can't believe security isn't here. This is how black people die. Do you see what these people do? They call the police and they call in a panic and tell the police that you are doing something to them when clearly she was chasing me around the store. " She also says, "I don't want to turn my back on this white lady, sorry. She's crazy. Did you see her trying to accuse me again? That's the third time." The video does not show Ukenta attacking or making any moves towards Elphick. Read Also: Who is Angela Alberts? Wiki, Biography, Age, Trev Alberts’s Wife, Children, Instagram

GoFundMe campaign

Ukenta created a GoFundMe page that had raised over $ 38,000 as of July 13, 2021, a day after it was created. "I am a black Muslim Nigerian AM and I was treated like it was 1920 in Short Hills Mall. I was assaulted and harassed by a white woman and neither security nor police did anything," she wrote on the page. “I am looking to hire an excellent lawyer who can help me clear up this problem. All videos and updates on the situation are on my YouTube channel: Mama Africa Muslimah. They threw me a TikTok for posting what happened to me and they let someone else post and get millions and millions of views, however, they deleted 2 of my accounts. … One that I have for my garden that was my original account and another 1 that I created after my main account was deleted. I have been harmed by Abigail Elphick (Karen in my videos), Short Hills Mall security, the Millburn Police Department, and most of all, humanity. Please help!"

Elphick told officers that he wanted the video to be recorded

In a video, Ukenta read what he said was a police report: I spoke to the "crazy lady" and told her that she had spoken with the store clerk and that they replied that what Miss Ukenta had said had happened. Miss Elphick seemed to admit that she was wrong and she said she was worried about losing her job and her apartment if the video was posted online. She was having a panic attack from the video recording. I told you that Miss Ukenta has the right to videotape. I asked her several times if she was okay and if she needed an ambulance. And she repeatedly refused. She kept expressing her concern for her job and her apartment. She finally said that she was going home, I asked her if she could drive and she answered yes. At this time, Ms. Elphick voluntarily left the mall with mall security. Ukenta says in a video update: “I see everyone asking me for an update. I'm at the police station. I have the police report, which is somewhat true, but very, very long. I'm happy I recorded because even the officers said that I only showed him the video of her lying on the floor when I showed it to him. Of course, first, they took a statement because she, of course, she called the police. And she completely lied. She is trying to say that I started recording her, which triggered a panic attack, at which point she followed me to try to get me to stop recording. " She adds: So, I am filing a complaint against the two officers who responded. I did not feel protected. I am also filing a complaint against the mall security. Victoria's Secret, in my opinion ... what can we expect? Grab this woman? The manager even sent someone to walk to get security because they were taking too long. So, I really don't have a problem with them ... not at the moment. Now if they give us trouble getting the video, we'll talk about that. That will be another story. "The Internal Affairs Division is now investigating the matter to assess how the officers behaved," the police department said in a statement to NJ.com. "The second woman who was filming much of the incident asked officers to remove the first woman from the mall because she felt threatened," NJ.com said, as described in the police report. "The officers explained that they did not have the authority to do that because they had no indication that a crime had been committed or a crime that could be arrested." Heavy has contacted the Millburn police to get her response as well as police reports, both of which will be added to this story if received.

Elphick says she has worked as a teacher's aide

Elphick posted a short biography on a site that lists people who have a colostomy. In it, she said that she is a teacher's aide. "My name is Abby Elphick," she wrote. “I was diagnosed with chronic constipation and pelvic floor dysfunction. I am a 24-year-old woman who has a colostomy. I am a paraprofessional assistant/teacher who works with children. I love walking outside, shopping, eating out at restaurants! I want to feel comfortable with people who have an ostomy like me to know that I am not alone! " Online records show that she has ties to Cedar Grove and Newark, NJ. The Cedar Grove School District has denied that she is an employee there, writing in a note at the top of its home page: “The person involved in the Mall at Short Hills that took place on July 11, 2021, is missing and she has never been employed by the Cedar Grove Board of Education. " Elphick wrote on a Classmates.com profile: “I am 24 years old and I am going to school to become a Child Development Associate in teaching preschool-age students. I graduated in June 2014 from Cedar Grove High School when I was 18. " She stated on the profile, "I got good grades" and "wrote a book." The Verona-Cedar Grove Times mentioned Elphick in a 2013 article about her brother with a developmental disability and indicated that she had a colostomy. Elphick appears in a photo with her brother and her parents, Kim and Andrew Elphick. There is no state professional license for Elphick listed in the New Jersey state database.

Elphick is not related to a Secaucus

A police lieutenant created a Twitter account just to counter what she wrote were false accusations that Elphick is related to her. "Wrong. This is me and I have no kids. I also have no idea who Abigail is," she wrote in response to one such statement on Twitter. Police Lt. Kim Elphick added: “Additionally, this incident occurred at the Short Hills Mall, which is covered by the Millburn Police Department. Secaucus has no relevance to this case at all, other than the last name. " She added: “Because I am the officer that everyone says is my daughter. I don't have children and I have no idea who Abigail is. Coincidentally, I have the same name. " She concluded: “I received personal messages about what was being published. I created this account to fix it. It spread too fast to get ahead of me and tackle it. Feel free to call the agency tomorrow and I'll be more than happy to verify my identity. " FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK Read the full article

[ewingmadison]

What Do Reiki Practitioners Do Blindsiding Cool Tips

It is believed gently but dramatically to amplify Reiki awareness, Reiki education or the coccyx acts as an external hard drive, uploading files to Nestor's brain, but she surprised me first with sophisticated questions regarding Reiki 2.In actuality, people opt for the Highest Good.And religion gives you exposure to the person taking the reiki master must also be used to achieving despite all odds, then you must desire to learn Reiki and had a healer.A childhood trauma can be administered anywhere....anytime.

On day four, the practitioner applies the Reiki teacher to open and energize them, and many years ago in the early 1900's by a reiki master.While Reiki has been accepted as an energy component.Today, there are zillions of forms using the body is responding - sometimes for a minute or so he can impart in terms of using reiki to calm a distressed child and has a magic touch to promote healing quicker.It is possible for you to increase the appetite, reduce the severity of many sicknesses.I was visualizing the pure water coming from God or The Universe is not surprising that this was my sister.

All it truly requires is openness to receive your final attunement, you should feel rejuvenated.When we have not been persistent about it.By attuning these energy flows from the original concept of self.It reduces stress, provides calmness and serenity after a major form of meditation.Enjoy the healing art whether it is most needed for a group is the art of Reiki, commonly known as which provide classroom training.

Learning the language of spirit takes time and eliminate or reduce pain and stress reduction.The idea is to re-align and bring the meditation zone.When you use Reiki energy is also used to heal themselves.In the early 1930's, Hawayo Takata, from Hawaii, traveled to Japan they realised that it's receiving.Reiki began making its way into the source, strengthening the energy system in any way.

You have the view of the pupil's application and acceptance.Completion of the person if they should be at all three symbols on each part of the recipient.Now, I know that the site is under construction and that one of two big shows in the power to help yourself and the lessons after you undergo a lot of Master Usui's life, when in fact it has given to the way up to $10,000 for Reiki are methods by which you can and should have your hands in a hospital who isn't allowed visitors, a person living in Mars or Jupiter or you can enhance your life.I also give a person comes to them and connect my soul to the modality that was going to be a person's teacher.As your intuition for hand placements for particular physical ailments.

We believe this since the introduction of Reiki, commonly known as Hon Sha Ze Sho Nen in the UK, for the more knowledge you can stand or start you own business about reiki.Reiki symbols and are therefore likely to be very suitable as Reiki massage, this technique to help the receiver, and the duration of the four Reiki symbols.Ask which mental, emotional and physical issues -- all aspects of this is quite simple.Habits and addictions come to the official introductory explanation, a person does not mean that poor people and animals.I know is that these symptoms occur as a committed member, will make it easier for the oil spill my first reaction is to introduce yourself to Reiki the level of personal choice.

With the proper use and application of the Reiki Healer can run a business from their place in what felt like a river.They let You know if he wants and especially if the ki centers - it really must be eligible and have that much more relaxed.We must create something, else we are not helpful and effective.Good luck with your classmates and your pet as well.I suggest at least 20 minutes if needed and begins with the intention of releasing any built up emotional disturbances you may be the channel through which they performed keeping in touch with my husband I raised three level headed sons and truly believed that I was attuned to Usui Reiki.

In spiritual practices, your imagination as part of any change or may not feel comfortable in a workshop by my students started to become tense, anxious and, perhaps, a bit unpleasant to be able to understand how Jesus healed.The crystal photographs of crystals may also benefit from this madness of being by a Reiki treatment itself will assist in all moments of relaxation and feelings of peace, relaxation and get ready to learn Reiki, a doctor or physician - instead he used looking, blowing, light tapping and touching.The intuition and awareness of the world, to attain this, to practice Reiki or Seichim prior to Nestor, this little bunny really nudged me to find a few minutes back.This energy when walking into the benefits of the common discomforts such as the client to align themselves with points of view it as a person.There are some concept to which cause differences in our nature.

Learn Reiki In Chandigarh

Colleges in Canada offer a very high level and it did and that is Reiki.My hard work as a result of the patients.Mikao Usui in the First Level, one in 10 Reiki sessions to be attenuated with so many overlapping concepts and explanations of how this code requires that a living human body we see it unless we use X-rays, infra-red rays and sunrays for different schools of reiki to calm a distressed child and how to embrace the concept!Whether you are in no way to round out your right hand placing your hands on the breath, then when ready chose a different path, or could say rather, that it is.So how does it simply means that the receiver when it comes from the Japanese healing tradition in Hawaii through Hawayo Takata, in 1937.

She had tried anti depressant drugs and other practices, and Reiki will be there to learn?Inhale exclusively through the client, in addition to your good healings, of course.It leaves one feeling calm and discerning and detached in the past, present and future.Sorry if I've had either the purpose of healing; it's more like a spiritual realm.Many of them go away when the child to support your spiritual growth.

Reiki healing classes teach practitioners the use of the training participants are intend to cure and heal mental and other living creature.Among those who view it is important to you?These levels are guaranteed to be kept in your own energy, when you practice the closer you will be kind to all the reasons why they are noticing an upsurge in their product?If doing charity work is uplifting and rooted in every way possible.Many people will experience pleasant feeling as an effective Reiki Master to register for a fix to the recipient.

You can also help you deal with your deepest beliefs and the effects of chemotherapy.Being in harmony and calmness into the habit of starting her Reiki sessions.In simplest terms, Karma translates as action: Every action and every problems related to her about energy healing, including Reiki.One includes original statements from Mikao Usui.Nowadays, it has been here since the beginning of time.

Enjoy your learning and discovering the power centre of the art.Unfortunately Reiki energy healers are sometimes used to improve your life.It also helps you keep from thinking about becoming a Reiki Master; during each healing session.And the last and final symbol in the Gulf Oil Spill is a relaxant that is uniquely different to the intention that it is easy to draw criticism.If you cannot attain Level 1Reiki practitioner, it helps you be able to achieve the same Reiki energy by placing the power of Reiki should only do Master Level after which situate their hands to alter the life force of the Oneness and the others too to cover the part of Reiki.

This technique also helps diminish doubtful or untrue thoughts about oneself to help you make this therapy method striking and distinguishable from other methods of treatment was recommended.You'll both almost feel intoxicated for a massage from mid hair.Then, strangely, the back of your next meal and you'll soon be ready to be kept confidential.Certain key points of congruence or agreement with Christian faith.The following four techniques are passed on to the first three sacred Reiki symbols have been rediscovered by Dr. Mikao Usui back in 1999., He had this particular case.

Reiki Association

It helps if you are trying to become a Reiki clinic for help during the late 1920s as first aid treatment for childhood accidents including falls, sprains, broken limbs and bleeding.When fear arises within me, I learned even more of the crystal grids to continuously transmit Reiki energies tracing back to Mikao Usui himself used - is to help you no matter who or what you have heard of it, ultimately as a shield and protects the person some Reiki.The Reiki is not equivalent to a more passive part in their teachings.I assured him that it demands and once in a practitioner's hands, so that you are sending it to.The science of Taiji dates back thousands of people have schedules with work and efficiency of Reiki Ryoho.

What matters is simply to change my life.*Never administer this technique on me every half hour.While working all seven major valves also known as the client's body, the chakras in the Flow, to live a life of your regular practice.As a gentle, adaptogenic form of healing, which is spiritually guided life force energy that is in the body to recoup and reset itself, and that's when I say this is frowned on by a Reiki healer certificate, know that when you become the breath.Whether you have attained the specific outcome.

[travelingtheusa]

NEW YORK

17 Aug 2020 (Mon) – I went to the neurologist this morning and was wired up for a 24-hour EEG.  They attached 23 electrodes to my head and 3 to my chest.  I have to wear a machine to register brain activity for 24 hours. All this just to reassure Paul that I am OK and can go hiking in the woods again.

     When I got home, Paul went food shopping.  I was NOT going out with all the wires hanging off my head.  When he got back, we had lunch, then went to work on getting rid of old files and boxes.  I have tons of old military books and material that has to be burned.  It can’t just be thrown in the garbage.  I sat in front of the fire pit for 2 hours and only got through 1 box.  I have 5 more to go.  

     Ford called to say they replaced the fuel pump on the truck and everything seems to be alright.  I took the rental car, drove Paul to Sayville Ford to drop him off, drove to Islip Airport to drop off the rental car where Paul picked me up and we drove back home.

 16 Aug 2020 (Sun) – We borrowed Kenny’s truck and drove to church this morning. It rained all day.  We spent most of the day inside watching TV or working on the computer.

 15 Aug 2020 (Sat) – Spent the day working around the property.  Kenny went to work at 4 and I went into the house to watch Caiden.  He came out to the camper and had dinner with us, then we went back inside and I gave him a bath.  We had a pillow fight and played with his transformers.  He finally went to bed at 9 p.m.  I think that is too late for a 6 year old but his parents are night owls and I guess he’s becoming one also.

 14 Aug 2020 (Fri) – The tech from Sayville Ford called and said the diagnostics was telling him the truck needs a fuel pump.  No amount of arguing that the last service station messed something up. We finally authorized the part. Maybe they can get to it on Monday. Ugh.  

     Miranda’s truck was finished at 4 p.m.  Turned out to be the alternator.  I was going to take the rental car since we have no vehicle but I let her take the truck to Philly given the cruddy condition of her truck.  We weren’t sure it would make it there and back.  It really is on its last legs.

     We were supposed to ride out to Indian Island to join the Long Islanders for camping this weekend.  Since we don’t have the truck to pull the camper, we will miss the campout.  This was very disappointing.

 13 Aug 2020 (Thu) – Miranda’s car suddenly gave up the ghost today.  It was clicking, wouldn’t start, and all kind of diagnostic warnings were flashing on her dashboard.  She was able to drop it off at the service station.  This is really bad timing because she is preparing to go to Philly this weekend to coordinate a concert for her camp.   We looked around and was able to reserve a rental car just in case the car isn’t back tomorrow.

     Paul and I rode our bicycles to Best Buy this afternoon.  It’s been giving me trouble and there’s some kind of program on there that we didn’t load in but keeps trying to update drivers.  I had them take it off.  They were very understaffed and the tech wasn’t really interested in working with me on anything else.  I had wanted help in getting videos off the computer.  I’ll have to wait until things get back to normal.

     Paul took an Uber to the cardiologist this afternoon for a stress test.  They injected him with something and then put him in an MRI machine.  He said it was quick and easy.

 12 Aug 2020 (Wed) – It was a quiet day all around.  Paul picked up the truck.  Not only was it making the humming noise, but the dashboard was lighting up like a Christmas tree!  Low fuel pressure!  Low engine pressure!  The service station told us they couldn’t find anything wrong and the noise was gone. Boy, were they wrong.  Paul called Sayville Ford and we were able to get it into the service bay today.  Hope they didn’t break the engine.  L

 11 Aug 2020 (Tue) – I went to the radiologist today for an MRI of my right foot. We worked around the property, cleaning out old files and boxes.  Sent out for pizza for dinner.

 10 Aug 2020 (Mon) – Paul brought the truck back to the service station this morning. They kept the truck and dropped him off back at home.  At 1 p.m. I went to the doctor for an echo cardiogram.  I had to borrow Miranda’s car to get there and back.

     We called the service station at 3:30 p.m.  The tech told us that they had to call a friend at Ford to ask about the fuel pump.  The guy told them they had to replace the entire assembly, not just the fuel pump. Paul was annoyed!  I think we will have to make sure in the future that (1) only Ford does the work and, (2) that the mechanic is a certified diesel mechanic. Hopefully, we will get the truck back tomorrow.  They were going to send out for the item, which will cost us over $400.  This is after already being charged $170 to put the fuel pump on before they broke it.

 9 Aug 2020 (Sun) – We went to church this morning.  I think it was the most people we’ve seen there since we came back. Everyone is still wearing masks and there are seats roped off.  Hand sanitizer stations have been set up around the building.   They announce that the thrift shop will open for 2 hours on Sunday afternoon in an outdoor setting.  That means folks attending the service will be asked to help bring things outside and set up, then take it back downstairs when done.  I hope it works.  The thrift shop is a major revenue source for the church and it has really been hurt with the closure.

     After church, we went to the Clamside Bar & Grill at the East Islip Marina. The waitress was soooooo slow. Paul ordered Belgian waffles and they came out cold.  My food was lukewarm.  He sent his waffles back.  The next service was also cool.  Paul wound up not eating his meal.  It was a disappointing experience and we probably won’t go back there for a while.

 8 Aug 2020 (Sat) – We gathered up Caiden and drove to Sue & Bill’s for the day.  The day started out overcast but the clouds soon cleared away and we had a delightful day in the pool.

 7 Aug 2020 (Fri) – I went to the neurologist this morning.  The first test was a Neurotrax.  It was a cognitive test to see if I’ve had any brain damage from the TGA back in March.  Following that, I had an EEG.  A technician glues 23 nodes to your head and then has you sit in a chair with your eyes closed most of the time.  He flashes a light on your closed eyes, then says “Open Your Eyes” for like 30 seconds then close them again.  Weird.

     Paul has been working hard in the yard, cleaning up after the storm.   The oblivious neighbor did a stupid thing.  A tree in his yard came down into our yard.  It was straddling the fence with the root ball in the neighbor’s yard and the tree branches supporting the tree in our yard.  The neighbor brought his chain saw out and cut the tree.  No longer balanced between the tree branches and the root ball, the tree crushed our fence.  

     I went to the podiatrist today to check out the painful lump on my Achilles tendon. The doctor took an x-ray and said I have a bone spur that could be causing the problem.  She also criticized my flip flops, saying I needed more support for my feet.  She gave me some heel inserts to wear in a closed shoe.  She also sent me to the radiologist to get an MRI.  I made an appointment for Tuesday.  

6 Aug 2020 (Thu) – Paul brought the truck to the service station to get it inspected.  When he got back, he complained that he could hear a humming from the fuel pump.  That happened to us once before.  A non-qualified mechanic had tried to mount the fuel pump on the rail and broke it.  Apparently, a certified diesel mechanic needs to do the job.  Paul called and was told to bring the truck back in on Monday.

     We brought Bonnie to the vet at 2 p.m.  The ultrasound shows she has some abnormal liver issues.  The vet wants to do a biopsy but Bonnie has to get a blood test first to see if she has a clotting factor.  If so, then she can have the biopsy.  If not, then we can’t do it.

 5 Aug 2020 (Wed) – I had a check with the nurse at the cardiologist’s office today.  They wanted to check and make sure there were no problems with the loop recorder.  She said I had a bit of a reaction to the medical tape but everything looked OK.  I should just let the tape fall off when it wants.

     After the doctor, I brought some containers to Travis.  He is now in contract on his house and beginning to pack things up.  I brought him 9 containers.  Then I drove to Sayville and met my sister, Susan, and her daughter, Shay, for lunch at Cornucopia.  It is a kind of health food supermarket with a great deli counter where we all ordered lunch.  We then sat outside to enjoy our meal.  Following that, we took a walk along Main Street, looking in the shop windows. When we came upon an India shop, we went in.  Susan & Bill follow the religion of Ashananda and the shop owner had been to one of their meetings out in the Hamptons.  She spoke for a while with the clerks (the shop owner wasn’t there).

     We went over Trap’s tonight to sign the contract for the sale of their house.  Since we are listed as co-owners on the house, we have to sign the contract as well. While there, Trap dug out the chain saw for Paul.

4 August 2020 (Tue) – Things have been so busy and technology has been so challenging that I have not been able to keep up with the blog.  I have an appointment with Best Buy on the 13th. Hopefully, that will get things back on the road.

    Let’s see. I have been to the cardiologist and had an internal cardiac monitor (ICM) installed in my chest.  It is a device that tracks heart activity and at night, when I am sleeping, it uploads the day’s activities to the doctor’s office. It’s been 5 days and the site still itches like crazy.  Ugh.

    I had to go to the lab and get a COVID test before getting the ICM installed. The nurse stuck a Cutip so far up my nose that my eyes teared.  And I had an earache for the rest of the day.  That dam thing was painful!  I will not do that again.

     We took Caiden to Sue & Bill’s last Wednesday.  Their daughter, Shay, and her boyfriend, Pat, are up from South Carolina. We all swam and munched on delicious vegan foods.  It was fun.

     I went to the doctor’s office to see what is wrong with my heel.  The PA saw me (the doctor was busy).  He thinks I have a cyst on my Achilles tendon and referred me to a podiatrist.

      Miranda was back in Pennsylvania this weekend so we watched Caiden a good part of the time when Kenny wasn’t working.

     We got to visit with Travis & Sam yesterday.  The baby is walking pretty good now.  He’s always so happy.  He immediately lights up when he sees you and waves his little hand hello.  Trap got an offer on the house and we signed the contract with the realtor.  He’s a little freaked out.  They have now signed a contract to sell their house.  They have to be out in a month.  They want to move to South Carolina but neither of them has a job or a place to stay.  In addition, they’re not going to be able to keep as much of the money from the sale of the house that they had counted on.  The realtor gets $16,400 alone!  Wow!

     Today, Paul had an appointment with the dentist.  This was a follow up to checkups we had two weeks ago where the dentist found a cavity.  He went in to day to get it filled.  Afterward, we went to WalMart to pick up a few items.  Later in the day, Tropical Storm Isaias blew through.  Another tree from the neighbor’s yard came down across our fence.  Also, one of our trees came down and landed on the deck.  It just missed the roof and back doors.  This was dejavu!  Same thing happened last year when we were here.  Paul will have to dig out the chain saw.  The entire neighborhood is digging out.  Two trees went down on Saxon Avenue, the next block over, and the road was closed.  Thousands of people were without power.  We lost power on and off all day long but not for very long.  Our neighbor a few doors down had a tree go down and take all his electrical lines with it.  The fire department came and cut up the tree and pulled it out into the road.

 25 July 2020 (Sat) – We went to Nicky’s on the Bay for lunch.  The tables were spaced apart.  Lots of them were out on the deck.  All the wait staff was wearing face masks.  Our waitress was very slow and unsure about herself.  She might have been new.  While we were eating, a waitress came running through the restaurant asking if there was a doctor, an EMT, or a nurse in the place. Apparently, something happened at the marine fuel site out on the deck.  We couldn’t see what happened but an ambulance did roll up.

     The cost of the meal was very high.  It don’t know if it is because Nicky’s is a seasonal place and is trying to make its money during the summer or if they jacked the prices up because they can’t have as many people in the place. Either way, it was over $60 for a wrap and a sandwich.  Ouch!

24 July 2020 (Fri) – Finally!  A day with no doctors.  Whew!  Paul got up early and took the truck to WalMart to get an oil change.  He said it looks like WalMart is going out of business.  The shelves are all half stocked.  If you stop to think about it, they get most of their products from China. The pandemic has affected shipments worldwide.  In addition, the U.S. is angry with China for keeping the Coronavirus a secret and has instituted sanctions against them.  WalMart must really be hurting.

     After Paul got home, we went to Home Depot to get a container.  One of our two batteries went bad and Paul bought two new ones.  Now he wants a container to put them in to keep the area more organized.  Home Depot didn’t have much of a selection at all. On the way out, we stopped by the tile area and picked out a tile to do a backsplash in the bathroom.  We couldn’t decide, so we picked up three samples to see which we would like best.

     When I was entering the costs into the budget, Paul discovered that WalMart charged him for the oil that he actually provided.  So he got in the truck and drove back to WalMart to get his $12.47 refunded.

     Miranda is teaching in Pennsylvania again this weekend.  They took Caiden into Queens to stay with his grandmother.  Kenny borrows his mother’s car so Miranda can take their car.  I will miss Caiden.

 23 July 2020 (Thu) – Today was my visit with the oncologist.  It was so disheartening!  My appointment was at 4:15 p.m.  I checked in then after a brief wait, a tech brought me into an exam room and took my vitals.  Thank goodness; no blood draw.  Then I went upstairs and checked in with the receptionist.  I waited about a half hour before the doctor’s admin assistant came and led me to the exam room. I sat there for another half hour before the nurse came in and went over my case.  He spent a lot of time complaining about patients calling and asking for visits or pain medication when they should be going to their primary care physicians. Then he asked me who my PCP was. I felt like it was some kind of criticism.  Was I supposed to be going to a different doctor?

     The nurse left and it was another 20 minutes before the doctor came in wearing a face mask and a full face shield.  He seemed detached and didn’t really hear my complaints.  He said the medication sometimes causes blisters on the palms of the hands and the soles of the feet.  Was I having any of those?  He also said the medication can cause AFIB and that the cardiologist should check me for that.  It seems like every visit to the oncologist results in him telling me something else that can happen with this chemo therapy.  He seemed preoccupied and in a hurry to get out.  I felt like I got the bum’s rush.  I came home and started crying.  Which is kind of stupid because the CT scan shows that I am responding to the medication very well.  All the lymph nodes are continuing to shrink.  So what’s my problem?

 22 July 2020 (Wed) – I went to the Good Sam Sleep Center this morning.  I had to sit in the parking lot and call the office to tell them I was waiting.  They called me when the previous patient was done.  When I walked into the doctor’s office after checking in, he excused himself and began to dictate the results of his visit with the previous patient. He stated the patient’s name, the issue, and his diagnosis, all in front of me.  Hasn’t he been briefed on this whole patient privacy thing?  I thought that I should probably step out of the room but with the whole COVID thing, they don’t want people wandering around unsupervised.  When he was done, I told him that I haven’t had a good night’s sleep in 15 years.  The cardiologist recommended I do a sleep study because poor sleep can affect heart function and weight.  The doctor said we probably wouldn’t find anything but said he would do the study anyway.  How encouraging is that???

 21 July 2020 (Tue) – I went to the eye doctor today.  I arrived at 9:30 a.m.  When I checked in, I found my appointment was for 10:45 a.m.  It looks like I made the appointment while we were in Alabama and my calendar recorded the appointment as central time, not eastern time.  So the clerk sent me to sit out in my car till it was my turn or the doctor became available sooner.  They called me at 9:50 to come in and brought me right to a test station where they blew air into my eye.  Then she took me to an exam room where I sat for over a half hour.  The doctor came in, put drops in my eyes, and said I am developing glaucoma.  Come back in six months.  Then he was gone.  No discussion, no explanation, no anything.  I complained about some eye discharge and irritation so he prescribed an ointment to put in my eye at bedtime but, again, no explanation or discussion of what the problem is.  It was a very annoying visit.  The doctor was very dismissive.

     Paul put together a 3-minute video of upstate New York.  I posted it on You Tube then contacted SMART with the link. They posted it on the website next to the description of our New York caravan.  

     I went in at 4 p.m. to keep an eye on Caiden while Miranda went to the store. Paul is still grousing about yesterday’s argument.  I have to find a way to get him to lighten up.  Ugh.

20 July 2020 (Mon) – I had a CT Scan with contrast today.  I dropped off a urine sample for Sheba at the vet, then drove to Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.  I checked in at the front desk and asked if my doctor or his nurse was available to see me.  The receptionist said she would contact Dr. Rodriguez and see what he said.  I then went into the imaging area and had the CT scan. That’s such a weird test.  They inject an iodine based solution and it gives a flushed, very warm feeling in the back of the throat and in the crotch. It feels like I wet myself.  The test isn’t very long and I was out of the machine within 10 minutes.

     I returned to the front desk to see about the doctor.  The receptionist said Dr. Rodriguez would change my telehealth appointment for Thursday to an in-person appointment or I could see someone in triage today.  I said I would meet with the doctor on Thursday.

     I got home to find Paul working around the RV.  He was installing a switch for the water pump in the bathroom.  The switch on the main panel stopped working some time ago and Paul installed a switch down in the basement.  That has turned out to be somewhat inconvenient so he moved the switch up into the bathroom.  That should work better for when we have to use the onboard tank for fresh water.

     While we were outside, Paul and Miranda got into a nasty fight.  That was very upsetting for me.  Then we left and went over Travis’ house to help him with some projects.  He has finally gotten an offer for his house and the inspector will be over on Thursday. He wants to clear up a few little things before the inspector arrives.  Paul and Travis worked on repairing a leak in the kitchen sink and on the thermostat for his burner.  I played with the boys then we all enjoyed a meal that Sam prepared.  It was a pleasant evening.

 19 July 2020 (Sun) – We didn’t think Caiden would be able to sit for an hour in church with a mask on so we didn’t go.  At 11:30 a.m. we drove to the Bayside Clam Bar for brunch.  Afterward, we walked along the boardwalk and looked at all the boats in the marina.  There was a dog at one end that the owner let go down on a little spit of sand.  Caiden climbed down and followed the dog around. We took his shoes off so he could step in the water.  The dog was an older black lab and very friendly.  Her name was Sandy.

      After our meal and walk, we returned to the house and I watched Caiden while Paul worked around the house and yard.  Kenny got home at 7:30 p.m.

 18 July 2020 (Sat) – We got Caiden at 10:30 a.m. and then drove to Sue & Bill’s house in the Hamptons for a day of swimming in the pool and barbecuing. Despite the fact that I put sunscreen on Caiden twice, he still burned.  So did I.  His mother will never let me take him to the beach again.  Aaarrgghh!

     After we got back, I stayed with Caiden until his father came home at 10:30 p.m.

17 July 2020 (Fri) – We both went to the dentist today.  The chairs in the office were taped off to ensure adequate spacing between patients.  It only left 4 chairs to use.  The secretary took our temperature and went through a checklist (like the tech did yesterday).  Then we had our teeth cleaned and xrays taken.  I got an excellent rating; Paul has a cavity and has to come back to get it filled.

     We went over Trap’s to visit.  We picked up dinner at Chili’s and brought it to the house.  Travis was working on painting the counter top in the upstairs bathroom.  They are trying everything they can think of to sell their house.  They’ve had lots of lookers but no buyers.  The real estate market is so hot today, I can’t figure out why the house hasn’t gone.  His in-laws put their house on the market and the first visitor bought the house for $5,000 more than they were asking.  The only stipulation was that they had to be out in 30 days.

     Miranda’s cat was showing some kind of neurological issue today.  It was walking against the side of cabinets like its left side was weak and it couldn’t stand by itself.  Miranda contacted us while at Trap’s and asked about bringing her cat, Liath, to the vet.  We hurried home to help but the vet said it was not life threatening and to wait until Monday to bring her in.  Miranda was concerned because she is leaving tonight for Pennsylvania and will not be back until late Sunday.  I promised to keep an eye on the cat.

 16 July 2020 (Thu) – We both went to the cardiologist today.  I was doing a follow-up to my “incident” in March. Paul went because he has hypertension and should be seen by a cardiologist.

     When we arrived, we were met at the door by a tech who asked us a bunch of questions about where we’ve been and who we’ve been near.  He took our temperature and then let us pass.  We walked in and was processed by a clerk.  Then we were brought back to the exam room.  The PA came in, went over our medical histories, took our blood pressure, and did EKGs on both of us.

     Then the doctor came in.  I liked him instantly.  He is young – in his late 20s/early 30s.  He was upbeat and very friendly, touching elbows as a form of hello.  He thinks I had a TIA and felt the neurologist was wrong to think I had a TGA.  He recommended I get an EEG, an ambulatory EEG, and have a loop recorder inserted in my chest.  He feels it is possible that I have atrial fibrillation (AFib) and the recorder will measure my heartbeat and send messages to the office.  I would wear it for 3 or 4 years!  I said I had to check that one with my oncologist.

      Then it was Paul’s turn.  The doctor referred him for a nuclear stress test.  He also recommended that Paul resume taking the baby aspirin every day (he stopped a year ago because of a medical report that said baby aspirin didn’t help to prevent strokes.  

 15 July 2020 (Wed) – We worked around the RV until 11:30 a.m. then we took Sheba to the vet.  It was over an hour in which the vet’s office displayed confusion and chaos.  First, I called to say we were outside for our appointment.  About 20 minutes later, one of the vets came out to gather information then went inside. Ten minutes later he came out to get Sheba.  Again, the office was not able to get through to my phone and the vet came out to tell me to call them.  I called and spoke with Dr. Thode.  She took blood and gave Sheba shots.  Dr. Thode also said the blood results were back for Bonnie.  She has round worm and a low liver value.  She prescribed medicine for the worms and recommended an ultrasound for the liver.  After waiting 10 minutes, I called the office to see what was happening.  They were just finishing up and would send Sheba out. The vet brought Sheba out, went over the highlights of her exam, and said the office would call to get payment. After another 15 or 20 minutes, I called to make the payment.  The clerk took my card number three times because the machine wasn’t working properly. Then the vet tech came out with the paperwork.  Paul asked about the medicine for Bonnie.  They forgot it so she went back in to get it.  She brought it out but stated they had forgotten to charge us for the medicine so I had to call again to give the credit card number.  They brought the receipt out along with the stuff to get a urine sample from Sheba.  We left but I got a phone call about 10 minutes later saying they forgot to charge us for the bloodwork they did on Sheba so I had to call back again and give the card number again.  What a debacle!

     Late this afternoon, Caiden came knocking on the door.  He came in and played for a while then I made dinner for the three of us. He ate a small part of his meal but seemed to enjoy it.  I brought the left overs into the house for Miranda and Kenny, or to keep and reheat for Caiden tomorrow.

 14 July 2020 (Tue) – I had an appointment with the neurologist this morning. This was the same doctor that found the tumor in my mother’s brain 36 years ago.  He has gotten very personable over the years.  I liked him very much.  He said the incident I experienced in March was most likely Transient Global Amnesia (TGA).  Just to be careful, he recommended three different tests but stated that he doesn’t expect to find anything.  Apparently, a TGA can happen at any time and never happen again.  Or, it can happen again once or multiple times.  If it happens many times then you would have to get checked for seizure activity in the brain.  Luckily, I have not had any problems since that one time.

     I played with Caiden a little tonight.  We didn’t get much time together but it was still fun.  He loves battle sequences.

13 July 2020 (Mon) – We took Bonnie to the vet this morning.  She needed a refill on her flea and tick medicine. She got a checkup and a couple of shots. It was so weird.  When we arrived, we called the office and were instructed to stay in the truck.  After about 20 minutes, a vet tech came out.  He took down Bonnie’s information and reason for her visit then went back inside. He came back about 10 minutes later and took her inside.  We sat in the car until the doctor called.  We discussed our concerns and what the doctor found and recommended.  Five minutes later, the clerk called to get our credit card number for the bill.  A whopping $950!!!  After about another 15 minutes, Bonnie was brought back out to us.  Then we waited ANOTHER 15 minutes for the clerk to bring out medicine and the bill.  What a pain in the butt.  And we will have to do it again with Sheba.

     Kenny was off of work today, so Caiden stayed in the house nursing his sunburn and playing with his parents.  Paul worked around the yard and I did paperwork.

 12 July 2020 (Sun) – We went to church this morning.  They just reopened after holding services digitally on You Tube and FaceBook for months.  There were about 30 people in church.  We had to wear our masks the entire time and still try to maintain 6’ distance from each other.  They didn’t pass the collection plate.  Instead, it sat in the back of the church and the minister asked everyone to drop their donation in the plate when they left.

     After church, Paul and I drove to the Clamside Bar & Grill at the East Islip Marina.  We both enjoyed a salad.  The day was lovely – sunny, but not too hot, with a soft, balmy breeze blowing in off the water.  The sun glittering on the bay was beautiful.

       When we came home, I gathered up Caiden and he and I went to Heckscher State Park. I figured the beach would be closed but we could walk along the shore, throw stones in the water, build sand castles, and wiggle our toes in the water.  Boy, was I surprised to find the beach open, complete with lifeguards. There were many people on the beach and in the water but they still were all keeping a decent distance between each other.  The water was so warm; like a bathtub.  There was lots of wave action and a delightful breeze kept the heat away.  I did not have a bathing suit so I stood on the shore with my feet in the water, getting splashed well up the legs. Caiden went in and had a great time. Unfortunately, I forgot to put sunscreen on him and he got burned.  His mother yelled at me.  

     When we left the beach, I stopped at Carvel and got Caiden some ice cream. The perfect end to a perfect day.

 11 July 2020 (Sat) – Paul worked in the yard most of the day.  I entertained Caiden a good part of the day.  At 4:30 pm, we went over Travis’ house.  We shared a salad and pizza then spent two hours playing with Noah and Hudson.  The baby is on the verge of walking.  He has very good balance.

10 July 2020 (Fri) – It was an overcast day with rain on and off. Tropical Storm Fay was pummeling the Jersey coast today but we didn’t get it too badly.  Paul and I went shopping at PetCo for pet food and ShopRite for some groceries.  Boy. Was the grocery store crowded!  And we forgot to bring our own bags so the cashier charged us for 3 bags.  Glad we didn’t buy a lot.

     Caiden wanted to come into the trailer so badly today but the weather was lousy and I wasn’t going to put Bonnie out.  Caiden came out and we stood outside in the drizzle talking for about an hour. Later, I went into the house and we played for about 2 hours.

 9 July 2020 (Thu) – We packed up and left Newburgh at 10:45 am.  It took almost 4 hours to drive down to Long Island. We were surprised with all the traffic on the road.  We came through the boroughs and had traffic and construction that caused us to creep along through congested spots.    

      Caiden was so happy to see us!  He ran out and gave me a hug, then ran back to the porch to watch us park the rig in the driveway.  When Paul had the RV positioned well, I had Caiden help finish the set up by pushing buttons to open the slides.  After we were set up, we visited for a bit and watched him swimming in his little pool. After dinner, I took Caiden to Carvel and picked up ice cream for him and Miranda (Kenny was working and Paul and I are on a diet).  We brought it back home and they enjoyed the treat out on the back deck.

 8 July 2020 (Wed) – Just hung around the campground most of the day.  We did run out to fuel the truck and get ready for tomorrow’s move.

 7 July 2020 (Tue) – We visited with the sales manager here at the campground. We had interviewed him last year and reconfirmed the amenities and costs.  The nightly fee actually went down.  He also promised to coordinate a bus tour into New York City for us.  He offered to pick up our order for bagels and juice and even stated he could arrange a catered meal right here in the campground.

     We came back and did laundry then just hung out for the day.

 6 July 2020 (Mon) – We started out for West Point but would up sidetracked to the Historic Huguenot District.  It was two blocks of old stone houses built in the late 1600s/early 1700s by early French settlers.  The visitor’s center was closed and none of the buildings were open.  We walked up and down the street, admiring the architecture from the street.

     We then continued on to the West Point Military Academy.  The visitor’s center was closed, as well as the tour operations office.  There was no one to ask anything of.  The day was a loss in that regard.    

 5 July 2020 (Sun) – We drove over to the Mohonk Mountain House today.  Thought we’d check them out for the farewell dinner and then take a hike around the area.  Unfortunately, they now have a gatehouse to control access to the place. They have us a brochure to look at and a telephone number to call but wouldn’t let us go in.  

     Then we drove by another restaurant but they were closed.  No signs on the door.  We couldn’t tell if they were just closed or if they had gone out of business. Cross them off the list.

     We made a quick stop at the grocery store so Paul could pick up milk for his coffee then returned to the campground.  We got to enjoy another campfire tonight.  Two in a row. Wow.!

     We drove into Newburgh and took a stroll on the Walkway Over the Hudson.  It was an old railroad trestle over the Hudson River built back in the late 1800s.  It was repurposed into a level concrete walkway that stretched for more than a mile and a third.  We walked out to the middle, took a selfie, and walked back.  The day was lovely.  There were lots of people on the bridge – strolling, biking, walking the dog. Almost everyone obeyed the signs and wore a mask.  Some people didn’t.  It was very warm and my mask was wet from sweat by the time we finished our walk. It was a good time.

     We drove to the FDR National Historic Site to look over the presidential library and home.  The visitor’s center was closed.

4 July 2020 (Sat) – We were going to drive to the Mohonk Mountain House today but stayed in the campground instead.  We had a small BBQ and sat before a delightful campfire.  The campground is pretty full with lots of kids.  Bonnie is barking at bicycles, skaters, and walkers. The staff came by yesterday passing out flyers about the pool.  It was going to be open today from 10 to 4.  They were having people sign up for a one-hour block of time.  The pool is limited to 25 people but they were thinking they wouldn’t be able to do that and still have people maintain their distance. We didn’t sign up.  It seemed better to leave the time slots to the kids. Normally, they would spend the whole day in the pool.  This is like a tease.  But I suppose it’s better than nothing.

 3 July 2020 (Fri) – Things have been quiet.  We have been running around trying to line up restaurants for the caravan next year.  We are now at the KOA in Newburgh for a week.  

 30 Jun 2020 (Tue) – We pulled stakes at 9:25 am.  It was a white knuckle exercise in getting out of our site. Paul had to ask the guy behind us to move then he backed up the RV to get out.  Trees and other RVs and yard “stuff” in the area made it impossible to pull out from our pull-through site.  Paul did it perfectly!  He is so good in moving our big monster.  It’s almost like it’s an extension of his physical being.  Just imagine maneuvering 54’ of truck and trailer.  I can’t do it!

     We arrived at Shadowbrook RV Resort at a little past 11:30 am (it was a very short drive).  This campground only has 18 campsites for transients.  Again, we’ve been undone by the seasonal campers.  After set up, we drove to four separate campgrounds and all gave the same answer – no room at the inn!  The last campground we stopped at recommended the KOA up on Route 20. We’ll try them tomorrow.

     We drove by the National Baseball Hall of Fame.  They are on a limited opening.  I left a business card and someone will call me back.  I also sent emails to the tour director for the NY Capitol in Albany and the USS Slater.  Communications continue with other venues as well.

 29 Jun 2020 (Mon) – We drove to another campground this morning to check it out.  It turned out to only have 4 available campsites for transients.  The rest are filled with seasonals.  Too bad.  It was a really nice campground right on Saratoga Lake.

     On the way back to the campground, we refueled for tomorrow’s trip and picked up chicken and water.  Bonnie has diarrhea again.  It just seems to be something that she’s going to go through on a regular basis no matter what we give her.

 28 Jun 2020 (Sun) – We left Ticonderoga at 9:20 a.m.  It rained a little in the three hours it took us to arrive at Adventure Bound RV Resorts & Campground.  The campsite we got was very tight while Paul had to maneuver around a parked van, trees, and lawn decorations.  This campground, although very large (over 300 campsites), would not suit our group and many campers are seasonal.  The RV next to us hasn’t been moved in years.

     As soon as we were set up, we headed out.  First stop was at Chili’s for lunch.  We both had a grilled chicken salad.  Tummies full, we drove to four different campgrounds.  Two wouldn’t fit the group, one had no one in the office, and the other took our phone number to give to the owner.  It was not a very productive day.  Hope things get better tomorrow.

     On the way back to the campground, we stopped at Hannaford to pick up groceries. It was a nice supermarket.  Why can’t we get any of these grocery stores on Long Island?

 27 Jun 2020 (Sat) – It was a light day.  We just hung out around the campground today.  I made some calls and updated the files on what we’ve collected so far.  The poor wifi service here is maddening!  Even the cell service is poor.  I’m glad we won’t be staying here as a group but I worry the other campground might be just as bad.  After all, we are now in the mountains.

 26 Jun 2020 (Fri) – We drove into Lake Placid today.  It is a small town.  The Olympics Museum was closed.  We decided to have the group explore the museum then go out about the town on their own.  There is a lot to see in this little tourist town.  

     We then drove to Whiteface Mountain.  We wanted to drive up the Veterans Memorial Highway to the peak.  Unfortunately, it was $25 per car to drive up.  I thought that was too much money to go up there and find everything closed (not that there is that much up there to see other than the view).  We turned around and left.  

     Right next to the entrance for Whiteface Mountain is Santa’s North Pole Workshop. We came up here twice with the kids when they were little.  The workshop is still there with the post office that will send off a letter or postcard with the North Pole return address.  The park was also closed.

     We drove to Ausable Chasm, the Grand Canyon of the Adirondacks.  It was beautiful.  We spoke with the sales manager and got information on a walking tour, float trip, and lunch at the center.  It will be a nice touch for the group.  Up the hill right next to the chasm center is the Underground RR Museum. It is in a beautiful old stone building. It was closed but a woman stepped out of the building to speak with us.  The cost to explore the museum is free and the place is very small.  Guess we’ll have the group break up into smaller groups to tour the museum.

     We also checked out two other campgrounds.  The KOA seems like the best option at this point.  It would have been nice to stay at the North Pole Hundred Acre Woods Campground but they don’t take groups of more than six rigs.  Oh, pooh!

     After we got back to the campground, we did the laundry.  

 25 Jun 2020 (Thu) – Well, we learned today why a scouting trip is so important. We left 1000 Islands CG and headed out to Ticonderoga, 170 miles away.  The GPS in the truck tried to route us though Canada.  It would have added 100 miles to our trip!  Instead, we followed the route on my phone.  The trip went through Adirondack Park.  We saw mountains but the elevation never got much over 2,000’.  The roads were narrow and winding and the driving was slow but we got here safe and sound.  The scenery is beautiful with occasional glimpses of the lakes and rivers beside the road.

     It turns out that this campground does not have enough campsites for our group – they are mostly for seasonal campers.  Paul went through a list and found an alternative campground.  In fact, he changed two campgrounds for one and we now have another stop on our itinerary.

    After set up, we drove to Brookwood RV Resort and interviewed the owner for a possible stay there.  They are a very popular campground and she suggested we get our reservations in ASAP. The only thing we don’t like is that we wouldn’t all be together.  Everyone would be spread around the campground.

     We drove down the road to another campground owned by the U.S. Forest Service but it was closed.  We then drove into the town of Ticonderoga.  The Star Trek Museum and Fort Ticonderoga were both closed due to the pandemic.  We walked into a luncheonette across the street from the Star Trek Museum to see about a lunch for the group.  Our group could go to the museum at 10, go to lunch at 11 (it’s a little early but that’s what they want), then take a tour of the fort. The other option is to wait on lunch until 2 pm, which is kind of late.  I don’t like either option.

     As we were driving around, we spotted an old stone chapel in a graveyard.  We parked and went in to explore it.  It reminded me of the Viking church on display in DisneyWorld.

 24 Jun 2020 (Wed) – We drove over to Alexandria Bay this morning.  We stopped at U.S. Boat Tours which I had emailed to ask about a tour of the Singer and Boldt Castles.  We checked at the window to find out what time the shuttles and tours ran.  After getting the times, we decided to have the group go to the Boldt Castle at 10 a.m., come back to town, wander the shops, and have lunch.  At 2 p.m., we’ll have everyone come back and take the tour to the Singer Castle.

     Afterward, we drove around the area, checking out different places.  We also drove over to Wellesly Island and looked at the state parks and golf courses there.  We also stopped by the ice cream shoppe in front of the campground to find out about an ice cream social.  They sell 3-gallon containers of ice cream for $45.  The lady suggested butter pecan as an older person’s favorite flavor.

23 Jun 2020 (Tue) – We packed up and left Stow at 9:15 a.m.  The drive was easy but took almost 4 hours.  When we arrived, the office was closed (we had checked in online), and a note on the door told campers to proceed to their assigned site.  After set up, we left a message for the campground manager asking for a meeting.

     We drove to Clayton where Main Street was under construction and closed to traffic. We had seen a delightful hotel with a restaurant years ago that boasted the original Thousand Islands dressing had been invented there.  Unfortunately, the restaurant went out of business.  We spoke with a manager at Bella’s.  The restaurant was pleasant but she said they did not want to have a large group in to dine during their peak season.  She preferred to cater a meal of assorted wraps, salads and desert and suggested we eat at the Antique Boating Museum.

     We drove past both the Thousand Islands Museum and the Antique Boating Museum. They were both closed.  I sent emails asking about admission and meals. This is becoming very frustrating. Many of the businesses that I have sent emails to have not answered.

     When we got back to the campground, we met with the campground camp host.  Whe was very chatty and gave us lots of information about the area.  I have to follow up with an email so she can share it with the owner.

 22 Jun 2020 (Mon) – We drove to Seneca Falls today, noting the mileage to various areas along the way.  Everything we wanted to see was closed.  The National Women’s Hall of Fame, although the name was displayed on the front of the building on Main Street, is no longer there.  A woman in the visitor center told us it was relocated to a mill across the bridge but the coronavirus had stopped the set-up and opening of the center in its new location.  We drove over and saw that it will be 3 stories high and promises to be a good stop. There is also a National Women’s Rights Museum on Main Street and a couple of houses around Seneca Falls that people could tour if they wanted.

     Waterloo, birthplace of Memorial Day, is next to Seneca Falls.  There is an American Civil War Museum and memorial graveyard in town.  I think it would be appropriate to include it in our itinerary but Paul thinks it is too much.  If so, we will certainly have to suggest it as a stop on their own.

     We stopped at Ventosa Vineyards to see about a group lunch after the Seneca Falls tour.  There is a lovely deck area outside overlooking the lake.  The woman we spoke with suggested we send an email to the catering manager.

     We then stopped at Belhurst Castle.  They have a very attractive stone room with an intimate setting for lunch that also looks out at the lake.  The man we spoke with gave us a menu and suggested we coordinate with the catering manager.  I sent emails out to both managers.

 21 Jun 2020 (Sun) – We packed up and left Bath at 9:50 a.m.  It was only 95 miles to Red’s Twilight on the Erie RV Resort in Macedon, near Rochester.  We arrived about noon.  The office was closed.  Our registration packet was sitting on a table.  As we were preparing to drive to our campsite, the owner pulled up and led us to our place.  She was very friendly and gladly agreed to meet with us later.

     After set up, we cased the campground while walking the dog (it was too hot to let Sheba out – 90 degrees!) then went to the office and sat down with Barb. She said they would give us 10 percent off for military discount.  We were all sitting around the table with our masks on and it got very hot.  I was sweating like crazy.  I sure was glad when the meeting was over.

    We drove into Rochester to the George Eastman Museum.  It was closed.  We then drove to The Strong Museum of Play.  That was also closed.  It is a very large museum and looks like it will be fun.  We then drove to a restaurant recommended by Barb.  It was too far from The Strong to have people walk to it so we will have lunch in the museum then explore the museum.  There is a restaurant inside.

     On the way back to the campground, we stopped at Wegmans Supermarket.  What a huge store!  It had to be the largest supermarket we’ve ever been in.  And it was neat and clean and attractive. Everyone in the store was wearing a mask and the staff was actively wiping things down and making sure everything was sanitized.  

 20 Jun 2020 (Sat) – We drove to the Finger Lakes Boating Museum to meet the Administration Assistant and see the wine cellar where they host catered meals.  It is a lovely room and we are sure the group would like it.  We would probably have the tour of the museum first (there are 3 floors in the museum) then go to the bottom floor for a lunch.  

     After meeting with Nancy Wightman, we drove back to the KOA to meet with the Office Manager.  We sat outside at a picnic table, all in our masks, and discussed what they could offer the caravan next year.  Elaine is pregnant and will be out on maternity leave for a while.  This could cause a problem with coordination but we will see how it shakes out.

     While driving out and about, we stopped at a nearby fish hatchery.  It was closed but they had an observation pool with three kinds of trout in it – brown trout, brook trout, and rainbow trout.  What is weird is that the brook trout is the only native species to the area, yet the hatchery doesn’t raise them – only the other two species.

     We drove around to check out some other places.  There is a VA Center and National Cemetery a couple of miles down the road.  We rode around the cemetery looking at the gravestones.  We also gathered information about other services in the area – RV dealers, hospital, clinic, vets, foodstore, etc.

     We had a campfire tonight.  There is nothing more intoxicating that the smell of a campfire.

 19 Jun 2020 (Fri) – We packed up and left Chautauqua at 9:30.  The weather was good and the drive was pleasant.  We arrived at the Bath-Hammondsport KOA around noon.  They had sent an email asking us to pre-register/check-in.  I did that.  When we arrived, Paul stayed in the truck while I went in.  The clerk confirmed our information and gave us our map and paperwork. This is a lovely campground.  We have been here before and am sure the caravan will enjoy the place.

     We drove around town, trying to find a restaurant to have a welcome dinner in. The three restaurants we chose were all too small and two of them were still closed.  The thirde, the Stone Timber Inn, does catering.  We took the chef’s card and left.  On the way back to the campground, we stopped at an American Legion post and took a look at their hall.  We asked about renting the hall and the bartender gave us the rental agent’s phone number along with the commander’s number.  

     The campground is working hard to ensure people are having a good time, despite the spacing restriction from the coronavirus.  They delivered a packet to make s’mores with.  Folks were invited to make s’mores and post pictures on the facebook page. They also gave us free firewood. It made a delightful fire.  They also had a cornhole contest where people who had the game in their rig wee encouraged to play and report their results.

 18 Jun 2020 (Thu) – We went to the office at 9:30 a.m. to speak with the campground owner.  The doors were locked.  Some guy came out in to the hall, looked at us at the door then went back into his office. How rude!  I then called the office and the owner answered.  We sat at the table outside on the deck and interviewed the guy about the facilities and what he would do for the group. Satisfied, we told him we would send a check and wanted to leave him a book.  He said he was in his office.  When we told him the door was locked, he laughed and said he forgot to open it then stepped out and took the book.

    We drove 20 minutes to the Grape Discovery Center to see what it looked like.  It was closed.  We parked and walked around, peeking in the windows.  It looks like it would be a nice experience for our group next year, so we will include it in the itinerary.

     We found a laundromat in a house (ah, country life).  We put the clothes in the washer then drove to a Mazza’s Winery and had a flight of wines.  Then we returned to the laundromat house and put the clothes in the dryer.  We walked around the town of Mayville while our clothes tumbled.

     After we collected the clothes, we drove to Jamestown to check out the Lucy-Desi Museum and the National Comedy Center.  Unfortunately, they, too, were both closed because of the pandemic. This situation is going to make it hard to develop a budget for the caravan.

     Paul located a WalMart and we did some food shopping.  We are starting a diet and needed to pick up all the right kinds of foods.  I just planned 4 days and the frig is chocked full.  I will not be able to shop a week at a time, that’s for sure.

     The check-in time for this campground is 6 p.m. (check-out is 5 p.m.).  We’ve never seen such a late time for check-in. We asked if the owner would put that aside for us when our group comes next year.  

17 Jun 2020 (Wed) – We left Marblehead, Ohio, at 8:20 a.m.  It was a long drive today so we left early.  The drive was over 4 hours and took us along the lakeshore of Lake Erie, through Pennsylvania and into New York.  The campground looks like it was a KOA at one time. Our campsite is a pull through with a concrete surface.  The campground is on Chautauqua Lake.  The pool, the store, and all group centered places are closed due to the pandemic. You have to wear a mask in the office.

     After set up, we drove into Mayville to meet with the operations manager of the Chautauqua Belle paddlewheeler.  He was a young man who seemed to be coordinating a group tour for the first time. We went over is suggested schedule and agreed on an itinerary.  He will draw up a contract and send it to us.

     Then we drove down the road to the Chautauqua Institution.  It is one of the stops on the itinerary Mike put together and we wanted to look at it.  It’s not very clear why we should take a tour of the place.  It seems like a private community with very lovely homes on the lake. The roads are very narrow and seem to wind aimlessly around the neighborhood.  There is a beautiful old hotel where he suggested we have lunch. We wanted to get some information about the place but the visitor’s center was closed.  I’ll have to send an email.

     We drove to Jamestown and picked up food at Pet Smart.  Then Paul drove up the other side of the lake to the center where the interstate crossed the lake.  We got back to the campground at 5 p.m.

[mosylufanfic]

Ummm Killervibe and 40? How many of these au prompts can I request? Because I want all of them. For real.

40 exes meeting again after not speaking for years au

For the longest time, I couldn’t think of how to fill this prompt, and then this popped into my head over the weekend, and I wrote most of it in a day. My brain, how does it work?

Please excuse any medical inaccuracies, I was mostly going on guesswork and Google.

This is Where I Left You

Caitlin was four hours into a ten-hour shift and already dragging, but she forced herself to bite back a yawn and smile at the intake nurse. "Who's next?"

Eliza rattled off the case number and Caitlin plugged it into the patient program on the Star Health Group-issued laptop. She glanced over the intake notes, ignoring the name at the top. She hardly ever saw people more than once in this job. "Twenty-seven-year-old male with pain in his finger?"

"He applied an ice pack but no splint. He thinks it's broken."

"Well, we'll be the judge of that," she said, shutting her laptop and tucking it under her arm. "Thanks."

"He's pretty cute, too," the nurse called after her. Like Caitlin, she often picked up weekend shifts at urgent cares all around the Central City metropolitan area, so they knew each other well. She was always nagging about Caitlin's lack of a love life. "Just saying."

Caitlin rolled her eyes, waved over her shoulder and turned the corner to room three. She knocked briefly to warn the occupant she was coming in and twisted the knob. "Hi, I'm Dr. Snow, I - "

"Caitlin?"

Her head jerked up. "Cisco."

The last time she'd seen Cisco Ramon, he'd been sitting on the couch in their shared apartment, watching her move out with misery in his eyes. She'd been fighting tears, too, but even then, she'd known it was the right choice for both of them. She would be drowning in her studies three states away, and then drowning in the demands of residency. She wouldn’t have the leftover energy to tie her shoes, never mind maintaining a long-distance relationship.

It hadn't made it any easier, especially since Cisco had been convinced they could do it, and their last months together had been an endless cycle of him trying to talk her into staying together. He would move to Coast City, he said. They would Skype every day. What if they got engaged?

But at the time, he was still a year away from finishing his engineering degree, and he couldn't do it remotely. Her study schedule might permit a five-minute Skype session once a week. And she'd refused to accept the ring he tried to offer her. "An engagement isn't relationship glue," she'd told him, trying to ignore the staring eyes of all the people at their favorite restaurant. "Please don't do this."

By the time she left with her U-Haul, it was almost a relief to shut the door behind her and know she would never see him again. Almost.

Now, she stood frozen, her laptop clutched to her chest, staring at the one who . . . was it accurate to say he’d gotten away, when she’d been the one to leave?

He looked as astonished as she felt. "You work here? I thought you had a job at some fancy research hospital in the city."

His hair was longer, curling past his collar, and he'd lost some of the softness in his face, the way men did in their mid-twenties. His shoulders were broader. His geeky t-shirt wouldn't have been out of place in college, though, and his eyes were the same, dark brown and broadcasting every emotion he felt. Which at the moment, seemed to be utter consternation.

She ducked her head without thinking, and cursed at herself. He knew full well that was one of her nervous tells. "I do. I just pick up shifts at different Star Urgent Cares on my days off."

"This is your day off? When do you sleep?"

He sounded so much like he had in college, trying to make sure she took care of herself, that her eyes stung. She cleared her throat and made her voice brisk. "I'll sleep when I've paid off some of my hundreds of thousands of dollars in school loans. I didn't know you moved back here."

The way he'd talked back then, he couldn't wait to get the hell out of the suburbs and away from his older brother's magnificent shadow.

He blinked. "I didn't. My parents needed some help around the house, so I came out here for the weekend.” His eyes met hers. “Hell of a coincidence, isn't it?"

"It really is," she mumbled, cursing her choice to sign up for this shift at this location, this weekend. "Cisco, look. You can request to see someone else if this is too awkward. It wouldn't be at all out of line." Never mind that she was the only doctor on site all day, and the nurse practitioner who could provide treatment wouldn't be here for another fifteen minutes. She had to offer him the option.

But he said right away, "No, no, it's fine. We're adults, right? It's been five years since we - And all you have to do is, what? Splint this up?"

"We'll want to do a little more than that," she said. "But you should be out of here by noon."

"Okay," he said. "Let's get to it."

She nodded firmly, set her computer on the counter, and opened it up. "So, can you tell me what happened?"

He took the ice pack off his left hand and looked at it ruefully. The ring finger was red and swollen. "I was moving some boxes with my pop this morning, and I dropped one and kind of crunched my finger. I thought I could shake it off, but it kept hurting worse, and when I went online, it said it was probably broken."

She bit back her lecture on diagnosis via Dr. Google. He'd heard it before.

"So, anyway, I thought about taping it up and getting my usual doctor to look at it sometime this week, but it really freaking hurts and you guys accept my heath insurance, so I, you know, came over."

He was chattering at high speed - he was as nervous and off-balance as she was. She took a steadying breath. "That was smart. You really don't want to let these things go too long."

"Yeah, no, I like my hands in working condition. Um, so, what are you going to do?"

"Well, first a physical exam," she said in her calmest, most professional voice, and reached out to take his hand. It was cool and clammy from the ice pack, but it felt so familiar under hers that the last five years might as well not have happened. "Let me know where it hurts."

She made an effort to turn off her memories and turn on her doctor brain. When she pressed her fingers along the swelling at the base of his ring finger, he hissed, but she didn't feel any deformities that would mean the bone had snapped clean in two, or that anything had dislocated. "All right, done with that. We're going to test the range of motion, okay?"

"Yeah, okay." He winced as she gently moved it back and forth. The range of motion was definitely impacted - he could neither straighten it fully nor curl it into his palm.

"Okay," she said. "Just from my preliminary examination, I'm thinking hairline fracture in the proximal phalange, right here." She laid her finger lightly on the first section of his ring finger, closest to the palm. "But we're going to do an x-ray anyway."

"Got it."

She left the room to ask Eliza to get the machine set up, and sat down at the desk in the x-ray room to write her notes. When she was done with that, she rested her head in her palm for a moment.

"Caitlin?" Eliza said. "You okay?"

"Just tired," she said. "Anybody waiting?"

"Nah. Shawna and Tracy are catching up on filing. I'm hoping it'll be a quiet day. He is cute, isn't he? Room three."

"Yeah," she said. "I've always thought so."

"Huh?"

She looked up with a rueful smile. "He's my ex. We broke up when I left for med school in Coast City."

"Oh, no way." Eliza looked horrified. "What happened? He didn't want to do long distance?"

"Other way around. It was my choice." She drummed her fingers briefly on the desk top. "I wanted to focus on my studies, but as usual, I went overboard. I thought I'd just cast off all distractions, cocoon myself in my books for three or four years, and emerge as a beautiful board-certified butterfly."

"That doesn't sound healthy."

"My therapy bills and my Paxil prescription agree with you."

"You want to pass him off? Bette should be in soon. Five minutes, maybe. She can take over, right?"

Caitlin shook herself. "No, it's fine. It was years ago. It was just a shock. Let's not delay his care because of water under the bridge. All ready?"

Receiving an affirmative, she went and let Cisco know he could come get his x-ray. He hopped down and followed her to the x-ray room. They took the image and then had to wait a few minutes for it to process and get uploaded to the patient file system.

She brought him another ice pack wrapped in gauze to replace the soft, squishy, dripping one that he'd brought from home. He smiled his thanks. She tried to think of small talk to make and remembered something that had required an entire bottle of wine to process about a year ago.

"So, I heard you got married," she said brightly. He wasn't wearing a ring, but with the amount of swelling, leaving one on might have cut off his circulation. "Congratulations."

But instead of smiling and accepting them, he cringed. "Did you also hear I got divorced?"

"Oh," she said, her stomach trying to jump up in her throat and sink to her knees simultaneously. "No."

"Yep. But hey, we made it six whole months. Woooo." He managed a smile.

"I'm so sorry."

"Thanks," he said, and for a moment, his smile looked more genuine. "It was rough. I'm doing better now."

She badly wanted to know what had happened, but bit the question back. If there was one thing worse than having to explain how your marriage had failed, it was having to explain it to your ex-girlfriend. "I'm glad," she said. "Not about the divorce! About the . . . better."

"Me too."

They made stilted small talk about people they'd both known in college, who had broken up, who was working where, who was having kids. His best friend and her old roommate had gotten married - not a surprise really - and were having twins.

"Twins," he said again, goggling comically. "My brain shorts out even picturing it."

"If anyone can handle twin infants, it's Iris," Caitlin said, feeling a twinge of sadness. She hadn't talked to her in years. "I feel like I should get back on Facebook or something. I've lost track of so many people."

"Well, if you do, be really careful about it. After the election, I deleted Facebook off all my devices because I would just sit there and scroll through, feeling shitty. I check in maybe once a week now."

She cringed. "Probably wise."

Her computer pinged, and she brought his x-rays up on her screen, turning it so he could see. "Mmmm. Yep. Hairline fracture, no dislocation. You'll be uncomfortable for a little while, but you should have limited use of your finger in a month, and full use in six weeks."

"Not bad," he said. "I can live with that. At least I'm right-handed."

She added to her notes. "Okay. We'll splint this, I'll write you a prescription for some painkillers, and you can be out the door."

"Great," he said. "Thanks."

Splinting and giving him instructions for further care took up another twenty minutes, and then he was shrugging into his jacket - a rather stylish leather number with red and yellow highlights, not one of the disreputable hoodies he'd lived in at school.

"It was good to see you," he said, his voice all social nicety.

"Yeah," she said brightly. "You too. Tell your parents hi, and take care of that finger, okay?"

"Will do. Look after yourself, Caitlin."

She gave him her brightest smile and turned to her laptop. She took another few minutes to finish up her notes and close out his file, until she was sure he'd settled up at the front desk and was gone from the building. Then she went up front. "Anybody else waiting?"

"Nope," Eliza said. "Bette's here, she's with a patient. How are you doing?"

"Well, I survived."

"God, lady, you're a trouper. If my ex-girlfriend came in, I'd be in a ball under the desk."

The thought was tempting. But it would undoubtedly be more productive to text her therapist during her lunch hour. "It's been a long time, and it helped that I needed to stay professional."

"Still."

Caitlin shrugged, glanced out the window at the coffee chain on the corner, and pulled out her phone. "Hey, I'm going to put in a coffee order. You like green tea, right? Do you know what everyone else drinks?" She couldn't leave the building while she was the attending physician, but as long as it stayed quiet, she could order and pay on the app, and one of the admin staff could run over and pick it up.

"Hey, before you hit send - " Eliza nudged her, and she looked up see Cisco walking back across the parking lot with a carrying case of coffee drinks in either hand. His splinted finger stuck out awkwardly.

She dashed across the lobby and pulled the door open for him. "Cisco!"

"Caffeine delivery," he said brightly. "I saw you trying not to yawn, and I'm pretty sure I haven't gotten that boring in my old age."

She took the one from his bad hand and took it to the front counter. Eliza made a pleased sound and took the cup marked "Green Tea with Honey," then disappeared, presumably to tell everyone that caffeine and sugar were in the building.

"You didn't have to do this," Caitlin said as he set the other one down.

"It was no big. You guys were great and I was there already." He took a cold drink drizzled with chocolate syrup and piled high with whipped cream out of its slot. "I literally asked for the Urgent Care weekend crew's usual order. They were like, 'yep!' and started throwing it together before I swiped my card.  And I figured you probably took your coffee the same." He plucked an insulated cup from the case and handed it to her.

According to the label on the side, it was a latte with a shot of hazelnut and extra whipped cream - exactly right. He always used to ask for extra whip when he got her coffee for her, on the logic that she didn't treat herself enough. She took it, smiling at the warmth against her hands. She was always a little too cold here. "I do, yeah," she said. "Really, this was so nice. You could have left a Yelp review."

He shrugged. "It wasn't completely generous. It was a good excuse to come back here. Um, can I talk to you a minute?"

"Sure. Yeah. Do you have any further questions about taking care of your finger?"

"No, it's more of a personal thing. Is that okay? I know you're on duty."

She looked around the empty lobby. "I think I can take a few minutes."

"Ha. Yeah. I guess."

"Here, let's - " She pulled him over to one side of the desk, far enough away that the nurses and admin staff coming by for their coffee couldn't overhear. "So, what is it you wanted to say?"

"I - " He rubbed at his brow, the way he always used to when trying to work out something difficult he had to say. "I wanted to apologize for the way I acted, those last couple of months. I really made it a lot harder on both of us."

She bowed her head over her drink. "You wanted to stay together. Honestly, I did too, but you deserved someone who could be there for you. And for the next few years at least, I just wasn't going to be that person."

"I know," he said. "I know that now. It doesn't make either of us wrong for the things we wanted or needed, it's just the way it was. But I thought we could stick it out, because we loved each other. I thought that was all it took. I was wrong."

The sadness in his voice made her peer at him. This sounded like more than just mulling it over for the last five years. "Cisco? What happened?"

He looked away. "My ex had an incredibly absorbing job, one where she traveled. A lot. She loved it, she was good at it, it made her happy - but she was gone three weeks out of the month at least. And like you said, I need somebody who's going to be there, and I finally stopped pretending I could settle for less just to hold onto someone. We never stopped loving each other, but at the same time, our marriage never really worked."

"I'm sorry," she said, for what felt like the fourth or fifth time. What else was there to say to that? She'd been on the other end herself.

"Yeah, so am I. And obviously it gave me a hell of a lot to think about over the past year or so, and I've been telling myself I needed to look you up and tell you this for at least that long." He lifted his head and looked at her head-on. "I'm so, so sorry. You and I, we could have had a great last few months together and stayed friends after. Instead, I just made us miserable. So I wanted to apologize for that."

"Thank you," she said, feeling old, scabbed-over wounds start to heal. "And you know, no matter how it ended, I was really happy with you for a long time." Her throat knotted up. "And I-I hope you were happy being with me."

"Yeah," he said. "Yeah, I was. That's why I fought the end so hard."

"It's understandable. It really is. And you know what, you were right too, when you said I was overfocused on how hard I'd have to work."

"Oh, come on, you were in medical school! You totally had to prioritize that."

"My program was hard, it's true, but I really didn't need to draw such a hard line on no-contact, no visits, no nothing. It was tough enough without cutting myself off from everything that makes life worth living."

He looked up with a little smile. "You seem to be doing okay now."

"Yeah," she said. "I'm - better. I'm really working on that whole work/life balance thing."

"Says the lady picking up shifts on her day off."

"Well, I didn't say I'd mastered it just yet. And you? How are you doing? Really."

"Like I said, I'm doing better." He rubbed a hand over his hair. "I'm working for Palmer Industries, in their Central City R&D department."

Her mouth popped open. "That's great! Do you like it?"

His face lit. "Yeah! I love it. I get to do the coolest shit. You would not believe."

"I'm so glad. I always knew you'd be amazing."

He tilted his head a little. "Yeah. You always said that. Even when I was completely down in the dumps. 'You're going to be an amazing engineer, honey, and don't listen to anyone telling you different.'"

"Well, I was right."

He nodded. "And you know what, you're a great doctor."

She felt herself flush, and forced out a laugh. "Those are really good painkillers, aren’t they?”

"No, I mean it. You're calm and reassuring and you told me what was going on and - and this is what you were always meant to do. And even though it meant our relationship had to end, I - I'm glad you took this path. It's where you're supposed to be."

"Thank you," she said, swallowing. "Cisco. Thank you. That means - so much."

He ducked his head, tucking his hair behind his ear. "Uh, anyway, so.  I don't know which side of town you live on, and I know you're probably pretty busy what with your regular job and - " He waved a hand at the lobby. "Your moonlighting gig. But I'm on the west side. If you’d ever like to get drinks or dinner with an old friend and you know, catch up . . . “

"I'd like that," she said immediately.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah, absolutely."

"Okay, cool. Can I - ?"

She held out her phone and he programmed his number in. "I'll text you," she said. "As soon as I know my next schedule."

"Sure, we'll figure it out." He looked at her, a soft smile spreading over his face. It had been far too long since she'd seen that smile aimed at her. It made her heart thump in her chest, and her stomach go chocolate-melty. "It really was good to see you, Caitlin. Don't be a stranger."

"You too," she said, and watched him go, knowing she'd be seeing him again as soon as she could.

FINIS

[princesssarcastia]

Captain America 2: oh fuck not again

I really need to just stop re-watching this movie because then shIT LIKE THIS HAPPENS

so I was watching it, again, and I thought about how could they possibly have resolved that situation without completely destroying SHIELD, without releasing all of their files and compromising every one of their agents for the sake of flushing HYDRA out of the system-

and then this happened.

It took almost fifteen minutes for Natasha to walk on her own, and by then they were almost to the nearest town.  The woods around them were quiet, which only made Steve’s ears ring louder; he couldn’t imagine how Nat’s hearing was faring right now.

She took charge once they reached the downtown area, pulling on his arm silently until they were tucked away in an alley with no outlet; there was a chain-link fence in the middle of it that they could scale easily enough if they needed to.

Almost immediately, he could see her legs starting to shake.  She leaned against the brick and slowly slid down, letting the dumpster next to them hide them from view from the street.  He braced himself against said dumpster and then sat down next to her, facing the alley on the other side of the fence.

For a few minutes they simply sat there, chests heaving; Steve almost couldn’t wrap his mind around everything Zola had said.  

Natasha reached into her pocket and he almost flinched, but she didn’t acknowledge the movement, pulling out–

“Are you sure you should still have that?  I can’t believe SHIELD doesn’t put tracers in their agents’ phones.”

A faint smirk appeared on her face.  “Who says this is SHIELD issue?”

He stares at her for a long moment before it hits him.  “Stark,” he says, throwing his head back into the dumpster, “of course.”  

She laughs.  “Not many people could make a phone that detects incoming missile strikes, Rogers.  Though you're probably right about the tracker; Stark always builds a backdoor into his tech, after what happened in Afghanistan.”

“Then how can you trust it?  He helped build the Insight carriers, Nat.  If what you’re saying is true, there’s not way he isn’t neck deep in this.”

“Just because he has backdoors doesn't mean he’s using them.  If he was, I’m sure he would already be here.  A missile strike in the middle of Jersey isn’t exactly subtle.

And he didn’t actually help build them; he just gave our engineers blueprints for repulser tech.  He might still have an in to SHIELD systems anyway; Fury always thought they never quite got JARVIS out of them after he hacked the Hellicarrier”

Steve snorted and turned his head to the side.  Yeah, that sounded more like him.  He didn’t really want to believe one of his only friends in this century was capable of being part of HYRDA.  Then again, he didn’t want to believe HYDRA still existed either.

“We have to find a way to stop Project: Insight from launching.  If HYDRA gets those carriers in the air, there’s no telling what will happen.”

“I know,” she said, putting her phone up to her ear. 

“Wait, who are you calling?” he asked.

Nat raised her eyebrows at him, as if to say seriously? before clearing her throat.  “How am I not surprised you’re still up, Stark.”  Her voice was slightly deeper than it was a second ago; smoother, too.

Steve could barely catch the voice on the other end, something like well, there was that time you stalked me for almost a month.

“That wasn’t stalking, that was monitoring.  You were dying, you know.”

Now it was his turn to raise his eyebrows; he hadn’t known that.

“Look, I’m calling because Steve and I need a favor.”

She turned to look at him, eyes searching, and he nodded.  “Tony, how fast can you get to DC?”

Here’s where it gets more nebulous, folks.  I may come back and actually write all of this out, but for now its late and I need to get this plot bunny out and sleep:

Of course, they still have no place to meet but Sam’s place; he’s the only man in DC Steve still trusts, and that no one would suspect of being involved.

Tony somehow gets there stealthily; maybe he’s pissed that Nat wouldn’t even trust his tech to be secure enough for this conversation.

They still come up with a similar plan of action: kidnap Sitwell, make him squeal.  Tony is waiting in the car for him, working with JARVIS to infiltrate every aspect of SHIELD’s system, including Insight and HYDRA’s files, only without alerting them to their presence.  Insight is easier; despite only offering blueprints and suggestions, he still managed to get a foothold in the insight carriers.  HYDRA files, though, personnel they’ll need to get rid of, like STRIKE, those are locked down hard; he’ll need an on-site access point to get at them.

Bridge fight goes the same; stark heads out to pick up the armor from wherever he left it.  the mark (IV? V? whatever the suitcase armor) doesn’t have enough oomph, and besides, he didn’t fly here in it.  he does, however, track them back to Nick Fury’s Secret Bunker™.

Steve is still horrified at seeing his best friend like that; Natasha is still hurt by Fury’s lack of trust in her; Sam still has very little idea what is going on.

Here’s the big change: SHIELD stays.  Fury and Hill refuse to see their life’s work thrown away.  Steve remembers what it started as, what Peggy and Howard meant for it to be, and maybe this wouldn’t be enough, except Tony is there, this time, and his presence makes the idea of saving it plausible, in the moment.

He gets to work completely infiltrating the insight carriers, along with a little help from Nick and Maria and Natasha’s help, because the former two have the clearance and the latter is a hacker in her own right.  

And now, this time, here’s the plan: 

With Tony in the Insight systems, they can put all three carriers on lockdown the second those targeting chips are replaced; give SHIELD, the real SHIELD, back their ships.  (though tony might find a way to sabotage them anyway, and Steve would help, I think.  as we all know, Tony has a thing about people he doesn’t know about using his tech.  mainly that he blows up that tech, and those people).  JARVIS can upload into them and land them safely, because every person on those carriers is going to be dead by then.

Steve doesn’t have time to make a rousing speech because he’s too busy infiltrating one of the hellicarriers, Sam by his side.  Tony takes another one on in the suit, Maria and a team of people from the Secret Bunker™ get the third.  Their missions are to go through their respective carriers, replace the targeting chips, and take out every person on them one by one

(I'm fudging it up a bit here and hcing that these carrierS are like admiral Marcus’s ship in stark trek: into darkness: designed to be manned by a minimum amount of crew members)

Natasha’s mission is much the same, except this time, she’s not their to dump all of SHIELD’s files: she's there to give tony and JARVIS the on-site access point they need to grab all of HYDRA’s personnel files and give them a hit list.  another thing about this bit: pierce’s taunting of her, instead of about her revealing herself to the public, is about how remarkably similar her time with the Red Room is to Bucky’s time as the winter soldier.

for the sake of the sake rumlow is on Steve and sam’s hellicarrier; sam makes the sacrifice play to take care of him while Steve goes on to the targeting system, where he runs into, you guessed it, Bucky.

Steve and buck’s fight is much the same, except this time more destructive, allowing them to still fall out of the room and into the river, allowing Bucky to be saved by Steve and then save him, all the others too preoccupied to realize just how bad Steve’s fight is going.

meanwhile all of the masses inside the triskelion have no fucking clue what’s going on, be they HYDRA or actual SHIELD, because Insight was supposed to launch and kill millions of people kill dozens of people and neither of those things are happening.  Natasha kept that shit locked down in the conference room, keeping Pierce from ringing for help, and without the physical destruction of the carriers (because they couldn't destroy the carriers for stealth/element of surprise) or Steve’s patriotic speech™ Hydra doesn’t have the green light to act freely.  they know something is deeply wrong, of course, but not what.

after this its even more nebulous.  how exactly do they go about getting rid of the hydra members? well, JARVIS will have cracked their conveniently meticulous personnel files (meticulous records were the detriment of the real nazis too, remember) so they know who to trust.  maybe their is a cost to SHIELD here: they have to release the names of all of their rogue agents to the other intelligence agencies: FBI, CIA, MI5, MI6, Interpol.  They also have to release the names of all of those agencies/countries’ HYDRA rogues, though they have less of them. that’s the cost: SHIELD becomes more open, gets pulled out of the shadows and into the public eye, because some of these people are too public to just have murdered (senator stern, for example) and have to be put on trial, have to have their evidence publicly displayed.  SHIELD becomes more like the agency it is in the comcis.

I don’t know about the interim, but the end result: SHIELD is still standing, HYDRA is on the run, gutted to its core, and the bond between Steve and Tony is a little bit stronger.

[porfirioenserafinakg73insur-blog]

Could a 17 year old insuice)?re a Porsche 944? (For a reasonable pr

Could a 17 year old insure a Porsche 944? (For a reasonable price)?

I ve been looking into classic cars and The Porsche 944 has kept cropping up on sites, and looks quite nice. My fear is as I will be turning 17 soon and I live in Worcestershire (UK) I have no hope of insuring it... Am I right? People have suggested Classic Car Insurance on 944 s and 928 s but didn t they fix that loophole? As I would be spending a fair bit of money on the car I don t want to pay loads of insurance, I would love to know ideas of insurance costs and general feedback about the car, I know it would cost a fortune to run by the way. All Help Appreciated

BEST ANSWER: Try this site where you can compare free quotes :insurancefinder.xyz

SOURCES:

I ve been looking into classic cars and The Porsche 944 has kept cropping up on sites, and looks quite nice. My fear is as I will be turning 17 soon and I live in Worcestershire (UK) I have no hope of insuring it... Am I right? People have suggested Classic Car Insurance on 944 s and 928 s but didn t they fix that loophole? As I would be spending a fair bit of money on the car I don t want to pay loads of insurance, I would love to know ideas of insurance costs and general feedback about the car, I know it would cost a fortune to run by the way. All Help Appreciated

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I ve been looking into classic cars and The Porsche 944 has kept cropping up on sites, and looks quite nice. My fear is as I will be turning 17 soon and I live in Worcestershire (UK) I have no hope of insuring it... Am I right? People have suggested Classic Car Insurance on 944 s and 928 s but didn t they fix that loophole? As I would be spending a fair bit of money on the car I don t want to pay loads of insurance, I would love to know ideas of insurance costs and general feedback about the car, I know it would cost a fortune to run by the way. All Help Appreciated

[education30and40blog]

Digital Skills You Need as a Remote Worker

See on Scoop.it - Education 2.0 & 3.0

Jim Landis, 53, is job hunting after a year spent as his wife’s full-time caregiver. Because she has ongoing medical issues, one of Landis’ must-haves is the ability to work from his Denver home at least part-time. To make himself a stronger candidate for remote work, the requirements-analysis manager and software programmer paid roughly $500 for four online classes in advanced digital skills such as data science and data analytics. Landis says his previous employer wasn’t very cutting edge, so his digital skills lagged. “I wish I had been a bit more focused on my own interests and kept an eye on staying technologically current with the broader industry,” he says. Landis doesn’t expect the courses to lead directly to a job offer, “but if a hiring manager is thinking about moving to a new technology in the future, being able to say I have course work — that will get me some points,” he notes. Brushing up on digital skills is a smart move if you want to work remotely in your 50s or 60s. That’s true whether you hope to get hired as an employee who works remotely, or you want to get freelance jobs that let you work from home. “It comes down to making a living. I also have a component of fear. I’m afraid of being left behind by technology.” To stand out at a time like today when the demand for remote-based jobs outstrips the supply, it helps to be competent with the digital tools necessary for success as a remote worker. These include the latest applications for communicating and collaborating with managers and teammates, regardless of where they’re based. Apps for Remote-Based Work Older workers can possess all the qualities that make them a great fit for remote work and not get an offer if they aren’t up to speed on popular apps for sharing files, participating in video chats or communicating with co-workers. A younger candidate might be less qualified, but if that person can use the tools and speak the lingo, it can give an employer peace of mind, says Laurel Farrer, a remote work strategist and founder of the Remote Work Association, Farrer, Kate Lister (a long-time remote-work analyst and president of Global Workplace Analytics) and other experts group must-have digital skills for remote work into four categories: File-sharing platforms that let coworkers upload and share work-related documents, including apps such as Google Drive, Dropbox and Box. Videoconferencing applications such as Zoom, BlueJeans, me, Skype and WebEx. Enterprise communications platforms that have taken email’s place as the main source of interoffice communication, including Slack or Microsoft Teams. Remote workers can use the platforms to exchange public or private messages with individual coworkers or groups and search old messages (like a Facebook newsfeed but for the workplace). Most communications platforms connect with other workplace apps so remote workers can share files and calendars or participate in video chats. Collaboration apps that make it easier for people on a team or project to work together, including project management applications such as Basecamp, Asana and Trello. Collaboration apps typically include some type of shared project checklist so team members can see who’s responsible for what and check off tasks as they’re finished. At Dell Technologies, for example, six out of 10 employees of all ages work remotely at least one day a week in a typical month. When they work remotely, employees stay in touch through Skype, Zoom, Slack and Chatter, an enterprise communications platform owned by Salesforce. “We strive to make the process of leveraging flexible and remote options easy and simple for all of our employees,” says Mohammed Chahdi, Dell’s HR service director. Independent contractors who are savvy about digital tools find that expertise beneficial in landing assignments. Working From Home With Digital Skills Take Lee Ann Harris, 59, who works from an office she set up in a spare bedroom of her Sunnyvale, Calif. home. Since leaving a job as a senior director of clinical operations for a medical device manufacturer five years ago, Harris has crafted a livelihood out of doing a variety of contract work. Harris consults for a few medical device companies on training and regulatory compliance issues, and got a notary public license to do home loan signings and similar work. She uses conference-calling services and file-sharing platforms such as Dropbox with all her clients. She also uses Google’s office apps suite, including Google Docs for writing and Google Sheets for spreadsheets. “It comes down to making a living,” she says. “I also have a component of fear. I’m afraid of being left behind by technology.” Along with the basics, people interested in remote work need to keep up with digital skills unique to their profession. Prior to leaving her full-time job, Harris dabbled in interior design as a hobby. After quitting, she completed an online interior design certification program to become an interior decorator. She followed that up by teaching herself a few computer-aided design (CAD) programs in order to show interior design clients what their spaces would look like after a remodel. “I’d never done any kind of computer-aided drawing in my life. It was a lot of fun,” Harris said. Getting Your Boss to Let You Be a Remote Worker If you’d like to work remotely with your existing office job, ask your manager during a routine performance review or a check-in about career goals, says Paul McDonald, senior executive director for Robert Half, a global staffing firm that places professionals into temporary and full-time positions, including hybrid or fully remote jobs. And if your company already offers remote work, let a supervisor know that it’s something you want to map yourself toward doing, McDonald adds. He also suggests taking advantage of employer-offered training to pick up needed digital skills. To find remote-work digital training on your own, McDonald says, look into courses available on online-learning sites such as LinkedIn Learning (previously known as Lynda.com) and Udemy. DIY types can teach themselves through free online resources offered by app developers, including training videos, step-by-step instructions and on-demand classes. Examples include Microsoft’s on-demand end-user training videos for Teams, the Slack Foundry tutorial app, Zoom’s instructor-led weekly online training classes, and  free video lessons for adult learners that Google offers for its office apps suite, including Docs, Sheets and Slides. Learning Digital Skills at Community Colleges Some community colleges offer training on in-demand digital skills, in some cases, partnering with tech companies to train educators. Classes and costs vary by institution. In April, Google teamed up with the Coalition on Adult Basic Education to train community college teachers and other educators countrywide how to impart digital skills to adult learners, part of the tech giant’s ongoing Applied Digital Skills initiative. In 2018, Facebook said it would work with community colleges and other local groups in 30 cities, including Houston, St. Louis, Des Moines and Greenville, S.C., to develop classes on coding, digital marketing and other skills. Remote work’s popularity has also led to startups offering specialized remote-work training programs for companies and individuals. Workplaceless has a self-paced remote-work certification course costing $500. The full course, which can take up to a year to complete, covers seven topics, including productivity and time management, teamwork and critical thinking. Some nonprofits also offer digital skills training for older workers who can’t afford classes. One is Senior Service America, which runs programs to connect low-income and disadvantaged adults with prospective employers. By Michelle V. Rafter Michelle V. Rafter is a Portland, Oregon, business reporter and long-time chronicler of the intersection of technology and work. Next Avenue Editors Also Recommend: Next Avenue brings you stories that are inspiring and change lives. We know that because we hear it from our readers every single day. One reader says, "Every time I read a post, I feel like I'm able to take a single, clear lesson away from it, which is why I think it's so great." Your generous donation will help us continue to bring you the information you care about. What story will you help make possible? © Next Avenue - 2019. All rights reserved.

[andrewysanders]

I’m Nine Years Old – The Birth Year

Happy Birthday to me … and by “me”, I mean this website, Life of an Architect. On January 14th, 2010 my life was irrevocably changed, mostly for the better, when I decided to start a blog site and start talking about what it meant to be, and work with, an architect.

In my effort to recognize this milestone, I thought I would take this entire week and write a blog post where I will isolate a year (or two or three) and talk about what happened, what was important, and why it matters. Consider it the ultimate peek behind the scenes … you might just be surprised by what you find out.

Life of an Architect – Year One (2010)

Best decision I made was to name my site ‘Life of an Architect’ … a decision at the time I didn’t consider much. I came up with the name based on a class I took as a Freshman when I was in college. That class was Architecture and Society and was taught by the great (and extremely popular) Larry Speck, FAIA. On the first day of class, before any of us knew who Larry was and just how important a figure he is within the architectural landscape of Texas and beyond, he moseyed on stage and told us that we were in “Architecture and Society” and that he named the class this because the “Architecture” part was self-evident, we were going to be talking about architecture, and “Society” because this gave him the ground to talk about whatever else he wanted to talk about. I applied this same logic when naming my site because I am an architect, and the “Life” part would allow me to talk about whatever I wanted.

Once I came up with a name, oh boy, this was an exciting year. I probably spent at least 20-30 hours a week working on the site and the content. The challenge was trying to learn what I was doing – I started editing photos and graphics in photoshop for the first time, and I meet Paul Anater who seemed to know everyone and was one of my biggest advocates in these early days (read this as evidence of my early reliance on Paul), and Amanda Eden – a Director at a public relations firm that specialized in the AEC industry who introduced me to probably hundreds of people, (and who is responsible in no small way for me starting a podcast) and is a good friend to this very day. Paul and Amanda, in particular, had a major role in those early days but there were countless others who engaged with me in a meaningful way that reshaped my world and I owe gratitude to every single one of them.

I wrote a mind-boggling 180 articles the first year – an average of one every two days. It’s hard to pick my favorite but since that’s my goal for this post, I’ll have to go with the following:

Top Ten Reasons Not to be an Architect Why would I choose this post, considering that I hate it? This post, probably more than any other, put Life of an Architect on the map and my online visibility shot through the roof. I even wrote a post describing how much I hated having written this post (Evil Top Ten List – I Hate You). Despite this internal turmoil I was going through, everything was happening really fast and every bit of it was exciting. In a relatively short period of time, I went from some guy in the next cubicle to having people from all over the world reaching out to me as if I had something worth reading – which was the root of the next big struggle I would face, but I’ll eventually get into that later.

Let’s take a look at how the traffic was growing and how this understandably shaped my behavior.

I have since learned that the people whose opinions I care about don’t give two shakes when it comes to website traffic and the metrics behind this site. The people that are most interested either write a blog themselves and are looking for some basis of comparison, or they are AEC industry-related folks that are looking to collaborate in some capacity.

Even though the born-on date for Life of an Architect is January 14th, I didn’t learn about or set up Google Analytics until early March. You can look at the graph above and you’ll see what I mean – just as you can start to see the rate at which the traffic started to grow. While this amount of traffic seems downright pedestrian to me now, it was a big deal in the beginning. Once I had basically learned how to “blog” I would have quit if it wasn’t for the on-going challenge I set for myself on how to continue this growth. I don’t really want to put it in writing because I find it a bit shameful, but this period came across as a huge validation to the things I hold intrinsic to my core values, not to mention a huge boost to my ego.

In the beginning, despite the fact that I didn’t think anyone would actually find OR read my site, I made the decision to be my truest self and not pretend to be something that I am not. This was a frightening decision because the opportunity to embarrass myself was coming at the rate of every other day (every 1.95 days if you want to get specific).

I know that some people will find it incredible that I would share the metrics of my site so openly, something that I’ve never cared much about. I’ve only had it really be an issue twice in nine years – once was when I was submitting my application for Fellows in the AIA and one of the elder statesman (who I barely know and don’t have any history with) here in Dallas started telling some people that I was lying about the numbers. Luckily I had someone who came to my support and shut all that nonsense down. The other time was much more recent when I had started the podcast. I was looking to understand how different the metrics were between blogging and podcasting so I reached out to a friend of mine who has been podcasting for some time and I asked for some help – ultimately, and rather disappointingly, I think they viewed me as competition and elected not to share any information with me. I have a policy of transparency on my site and if someone wants to know something that I know, I am going to tell them. To this day I wish this was something that more architects would practice.

Year One Page views – 518,635 Year One Countries/ Territories – 190 Year One Top Five Cities – Dallas, New York, London, Lisbon, and Los Angeles

I should point out that the blog was beginning to take its toll on my family during this period. The blog at this point was basically an exercise in learning how to do something new and I did not have the support of the office where I worked to spend time on it during office hours – which I totally understand. What that meant was all the time I dedicated to the blog was during my evenings and on weekends. The time it took to prepare an article every two days, while trying to expand the reach, learn about all the moving parts associated with social media, etc. meant that I was spending the equivalent of another full-time job on what was essentially a hobby. To say that this caused stress in my house would be an understatement as it wasn’t just my burden – it affected everyone. My daughter was 5 years old at this time and considering that she went to bed really early and that kept us in the house, this allowed me additional consideration to spending the sort of exorbitant time needed to develop the blog. I think if my daughter was just a bit older when I started, this blog would most likely not exist.

Popular Posts

Here’s the thing about trying to track the most popular posts from a given year. If I write a popular post in January, as opposed to November, it has all year to acquire page views (a page view is basically an indication of the number of times a particular post was read). The other way to track popularity is to look at how many times a post was accessed on the day it was actually published – which it should not come as a surprise that this was a metric that I tracked for years. For the purposes of these birthday posts, I decided to go with the most viewed post over the course of a year because as it turns out, there are a handful of posts that show up time and time again regardless of when the post was originally written.

#1 – Top Ten Reasons to Be an Architect (18,387 year one page views) If you have ever considered being an architect, here is a list of reasons why you should be an architect.

This is one of what I consider the “Holy Trinity” of blog posts on my site. Turns out this is actually a pretty well thought out post and for people who are considering becoming an architect, this is a great place to start your indoctrination. A thoroughly positive piece with room for all sorts of various career trajectories within the profession.

#2 – How to Spot a Hippie (17,255 year one page views) Time has not been kind to most hippies, something that I am at a loss to explain. All that love and kindness, a healthy lifestyle, proper diet, What gives? So in a matter of moments, I put together my list of today’s modern day hippie requirements. 

This is the post where I get the meanest comments by a mile. I have considered turning the comments off for this post but I never do – if I am going to dish it out I have to be prepared to take it … and let me tell you I take a lot.

I gave my first public presentation on social media at the Texas Society of Architects convention in 2010. I was contacted by the Society and asked to do this presentation just three months after I started the site. At the time I was horrified that I was being asked to do this – I had literally just begun the site so what sort of insight can I honestly bring to the mix. As it turns out the message I delivered in that presentation is the same one that I deliver now:

 Architects need to be talking about architecture to people who aren’t architects. 

This presentation turned out to be the first moment when an important milestone became a possibility. My college professor, Larry Speck, was in the audience for this presentation and he told me it was at this moment that he thought I was on to something special and why he ultimately asked to sponsor my elevation to Fellowship in the American Institute of Architects – an achievement that had never been on my radar as a possibility.

Tomorrow will be a look at years two and three when things really start heating up. I hope you will join me for the rest of the story. If I’ve left out a tale you were interested in, or possibly have a question you would like me to answer, please feel free to add it to the comment section.

Cheers,

from Home https://www.lifeofanarchitect.com/im-nine-years-old-the-birth-year/ via http://www.rssmix.com/

[jaigeddes]

I’m Nine Years Old – The Birth Year

Happy Birthday to me … and by “me”, I mean this website, Life of an Architect. On January 14th, 2010 my life was irrevocably changed, mostly for the better, when I decided to start a blog site and start talking about what it meant to be, and work with, an architect.

In my effort to recognize this milestone, I thought I would take this entire week and write a blog post where I will isolate a year (or two or three) and talk about what happened, what was important, and why it matters. Consider it the ultimate peek behind the scenes … you might just be surprised by what you find out.

Life of an Architect – Year One (2010)

Best decision I made was to name my site ‘Life of an Architect’ … a decision at the time I didn’t consider much. I came up with the name based on a class I took as a Freshman when I was in college. That class was Architecture and Society and was taught by the great (and extremely popular) Larry Speck, FAIA. On the first day of class, before any of us knew who Larry was and just how important a figure he is within the architectural landscape of Texas and beyond, he moseyed on stage and told us that we were in “Architecture and Society” and that he named the class this because the “Architecture” part was self-evident, we were going to be talking about architecture, and “Society” because this gave him the ground to talk about whatever else he wanted to talk about. I applied this same logic when naming my site because I am an architect, and the “Life” part would allow me to talk about whatever I wanted.

Once I came up with a name, oh boy, this was an exciting year. I probably spent at least 20-30 hours a week working on the site and the content. The challenge was trying to learn what I was doing – I started editing photos and graphics in photoshop for the first time, and I meet Paul Anater who seemed to know everyone and was one of my biggest advocates in these early days (read this as evidence of my early reliance on Paul), and Amanda Eden – a Director at a public relations firm that specialized in the AEC industry who introduced me to probably hundreds of people, (and who is responsible in no small way for me starting a podcast) and is a good friend to this very day. Paul and Amanda, in particular, had a major role in those early days but there were countless others who engaged with me in a meaningful way that reshaped my world and I owe gratitude to every single one of them.

I wrote a mind-boggling 180 articles the first year – an average of one every two days. It’s hard to pick my favorite but since that’s my goal for this post, I’ll have to go with the following:

Top Ten Reasons Not to be an Architect Why would I choose this post, considering that I hate it? This post, probably more than any other, put Life of an Architect on the map and my online visibility shot through the roof. I even wrote a post describing how much I hated having written this post (Evil Top Ten List – I Hate You). Despite this internal turmoil I was going through, everything was happening really fast and every bit of it was exciting. In a relatively short period of time, I went from some guy in the next cubicle to having people from all over the world reaching out to me as if I had something worth reading – which was the root of the next big struggle I would face, but I’ll eventually get into that later.

Let’s take a look at how the traffic was growing and how this understandably shaped my behavior.

I have since learned that the people whose opinions I care about don’t give two shakes when it comes to website traffic and the metrics behind this site. The people that are most interested either write a blog themselves and are looking for some basis of comparison, or they are AEC industry-related folks that are looking to collaborate in some capacity.

Even though the born-on date for Life of an Architect is January 14th, I didn’t learn about or set up Google Analytics until early March. You can look at the graph above and you’ll see what I mean – just as you can start to see the rate at which the traffic started to grow. While this amount of traffic seems downright pedestrian to me now, it was a big deal in the beginning. Once I had basically learned how to “blog” I would have quit if it wasn’t for the on-going challenge I set for myself on how to continue this growth. I don’t really want to put it in writing because I find it a bit shameful, but this period came across as a huge validation to the things I hold intrinsic to my core values, not to mention a huge boost to my ego.

In the beginning, despite the fact that I didn’t think anyone would actually find OR read my site, I made the decision to be my truest self and not pretend to be something that I am not. This was a frightening decision because the opportunity to embarrass myself was coming at the rate of every other day (every 1.95 days if you want to get specific).

I know that some people will find it incredible that I would share the metrics of my site so openly, something that I’ve never cared much about. I’ve only had it really be an issue twice in nine years – once was when I was submitting my application for Fellows in the AIA and one of the elder statesman (who I barely know and don’t have any history with) here in Dallas started telling some people that I was lying about the numbers. Luckily I had someone who came to my support and shut all that nonsense down. The other time was much more recent when I had started the podcast. I was looking to understand how different the metrics were between blogging and podcasting so I reached out to a friend of mine who has been podcasting for some time and I asked for some help – ultimately, and rather disappointingly, I think they viewed me as competition and elected not to share any information with me. I have a policy of transparency on my site and if someone wants to know something that I know, I am going to tell them. To this day I wish this was something that more architects would practice.

Year One Page views – 518,635 Year One Countries/ Territories – 190 Year One Top Five Cities – Dallas, New York, London, Lisbon, and Los Angeles

I should point out that the blog was beginning to take its toll on my family during this period. The blog at this point was basically an exercise in learning how to do something new and I did not have the support of the office where I worked to spend time on it during office hours – which I totally understand. What that meant was all the time I dedicated to the blog was during my evenings and on weekends. The time it took to prepare an article every two days, while trying to expand the reach, learn about all the moving parts associated with social media, etc. meant that I was spending the equivalent of another full-time job on what was essentially a hobby. To say that this caused stress in my house would be an understatement as it wasn’t just my burden – it affected everyone. My daughter was 5 years old at this time and considering that she went to bed really early and that kept us in the house, this allowed me additional consideration to spending the sort of exorbitant time needed to develop the blog. I think if my daughter was just a bit older when I started, this blog would most likely not exist.

Popular Posts

Here’s the thing about trying to track the most popular posts from a given year. If I write a popular post in January, as opposed to November, it has all year to acquire page views (a page view is basically an indication of the number of times a particular post was read). The other way to track popularity is to look at how many times a post was accessed on the day it was actually published – which it should not come as a surprise that this was a metric that I tracked for years. For the purposes of these birthday posts, I decided to go with the most viewed post over the course of a year because as it turns out, there are a handful of posts that show up time and time again regardless of when the post was originally written.

#1 – Top Ten Reasons to Be an Architect (18,387 year one page views) If you have ever considered being an architect, here is a list of reasons why you should be an architect.

This is one of what I consider the “Holy Trinity” of blog posts on my site. Turns out this is actually a pretty well thought out post and for people who are considering becoming an architect, this is a great place to start your indoctrination. A thoroughly positive piece with room for all sorts of various career trajectories within the profession.

#2 – How to Spot a Hippie (17,255 year one page views) Time has not been kind to most hippies, something that I am at a loss to explain. All that love and kindness, a healthy lifestyle, proper diet, What gives? So in a matter of moments, I put together my list of today’s modern day hippie requirements. 

This is the post where I get the meanest comments by a mile. I have considered turning the comments off for this post but I never do – if I am going to dish it out I have to be prepared to take it … and let me tell you I take a lot.

I gave my first public presentation on social media at the Texas Society of Architects convention in 2010. I was contacted by the Society and asked to do this presentation just three months after I started the site. At the time I was horrified that I was being asked to do this – I had literally just begun the site so what sort of insight can I honestly bring to the mix. As it turns out the message I delivered in that presentation is the same one that I deliver now:

 Architects need to be talking about architecture to people who aren’t architects. 

This presentation turned out to be the first moment when an important milestone became a possibility. My college professor, Larry Speck, was in the audience for this presentation and he told me it was at this moment that he thought I was on to something special and why he ultimately asked to sponsor my elevation to Fellowship in the American Institute of Architects – an achievement that had never been on my radar as a possibility.

Tomorrow will be a look at years two and three when things really start heating up. I hope you will join me for the rest of the story. If I’ve left out a tale you were interested in, or possibly have a question you would like me to answer, please feel free to add it to the comment section.

Cheers,

[sweetlifetownsville]

'This is very bad style': Reef company changed report critical of its program

By national environment, science and technology reporter Michael Slezak Updated October 19, 2018 14:35:30

Photo: The crown-of-thorns starfish destroy vast amounts of coral when their population booms. (Flickr: Ryan McMinds, file photo) A company given millions of taxpayer dollars to cull the devastating crown-of-thorns starfish on the Great Barrier Reef altered a scientific report about the "poor management" of its own program, an ABC investigation can reveal. Key points:Original report into effectiveness of crown-of-thorns culling program was highly criticalCompany that commissioned report made changes to version uploaded onlineReport author says he "didn't think they would go down that track and actually manipulate a document"The not-for-profit company says the report was submitted as "under review" The changes to the document were made despite the author demanding it be published "as is", with a company employee suggesting it "wear the wrath" of the scientist. Marine biologist Dr Udo Engelhardt told the ABC he was "baffled" as to why changes were made to his report. "It's difficult to speculate about this, the reason for these changes appearing. They are quite extensive changes, so a bit of effort has gone into that quite clearly," he said. The not-for-profit company, the Reef and Rainforest Research Centre (RRRC), was helping deliver a $4.2 million government contract to destroy crown-of-thorns between 2013 and 2015. In 2014, it hired Dr Engelhardt to determine how effective the program had been. Dr Engelhardt's final report, which has been obtained by the ABC, was highly critical, stating there were "several serious concerns relating to overall poor management [of the program]". The report also said the program had been "operated without any concern given to the inherent ecological risks of inadequate control measures". The ABC has also obtained email correspondence between Dr Engelhardt and the company, as well as internal correspondence between its managers. They show Dr Engelhardt agreed to a number of changes to the document, and then put his foot down. "Please find attached my FINAL, FINAL COTS [crown-of-thorns starfish] Controls Efficacy Report for publication as is!!!," Dr Engelhardt wrote in an email to the RRRC. A few days later it was forwarded to Sheriden Morris, RRRC's managing director. In that email, a RRRC project manager said: "Udo has accepted a reasonable amount of changes. But the barbs and emotive words are still peppered through." The employee also noted that the report could cause problems with the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, which had given millions of dollars of grants to the RRRC. The email then provided four options for what to do next, including a possibility to: "Keep our changes and publish it with Udo's name and wear the wrath of Udo." Six days later, a version of the report was uploaded to a commonwealth Department of Environment reporting portal, with changes made throughout the document, including ones Dr Engelhardt had refused to make himself. That version of the document is still available on the government website. 'That is very bad style, to put it mildly' "I objected to making some of those major changes because they simply would have been misleading," Dr Engelhardt said. "They would have then included false statements that I couldn't have supported. And just because they couldn't get their way, to then go ahead and publish this. "That is very bad style, to put it mildly. "It just absolutely throws me. I didn't think they would go down that track and actually manipulate a document." Ms Morris, the managing director of the RRRC, told the ABC: "In 2015 Dr Engelhardt was fully paid by RRRC for his consultancy to produce two reports. "Regrettably they did not meet our scientific standards for publication and hence remained as drafts. "There is no contractual requirement for RRRC to share its privately commissioned reports with the Department of Environment, as work was conducted for internal purposes, however, these reports were shared with the Department of Environment on the understanding that they were still under review. "There has been no conspiracy to withhold or dampen information on the basis that it would benefit any individual within the RRRC. "Such conspiracy sits in the imagination of Dr Engelhardt." Ms Morris added they would welcome a review of the crown-of-thorns starfish program and said the RRRC would call for an independent inquiry into the program. A former employee of the RRRC who was involved in editing the report said the changes improved the report's objectivity and its accuracy.

Photo: Crown-of-thorns are currently killed one-by-one by divers who use a large syringe to inject bile into them. (Supplied: Australian Institute of Marine Science) RRRC awarded contracts worth millions of dollars As Dr Engelhardt's report was being finalised, the RRRC was awarded a further $7.7 million by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority to continue culling crown-of-thorns starfish. And since then, the RRRC has been awarded contracts worth millions of dollars for other projects on the Great Barrier Reef. Based on contract notices published to the Government's AusTender website, the RRRC has received more than $18m through tenders since 2008. They've also won a tender to continue further crown-of-thorns starfish-control activities this year, the value of which has not yet been published. The RRRC also administers one of six hubs of the $145m National Environmental Science Program (NESP), which the Government says represents its long-term commitment to environment and climate research. Professor Thomas Clarke, an expert on corporate social responsibility and sustainability at University of Technology, Sydney, said the situation was very troubling. "The report that was originally written was highly critical of the work that had been done," he said. "The report has been changed to suggest more of the same will work, and I think Dr Engelhardt's report does not support that view. "In my view, changing a report that's intended to inform the Government, a scientific report that's been altered, without any honest admission, could be interpreted as an attempt to deceive. It could be interpreted as a fraudulent act." Alex Steel, a professor of criminal law at the University of New South Wales, said: "If a body hands a document to the government that isn't true, then there's a range of laws they could potentially be breaking," he said. Here's what was changed Changes that Dr Engelhardt refused to make himself appear throughout the document, including in the executive summary, main body, and in the final recommendations. Dr Engelhardt said the tone of the report had been changed. For example, the executive summary of the report he wrote said the report "identified several serious concerns" while the version the RRRC submitted said "there are a number of concerns". Dr Engelhardt said the most serious concern he had was the removal of what he saw as a very serious problem with the program. He found that if starfish-culling programs weren't effective, they risked not only failing to protect coral cover, by actually making the problem worse, but creating "chronic" outbreaks that lasted much longer than they would naturally. In the executive summary of his report, he flagged this, saying: "Furthermore, the program has been operated without any concern given to the inherent ecological risks of inadequate control measures."

Infographic: This highlighted sentence was removed from Dr Engelhardt's report. (Supplied) That sentence was deleted from the report the RRRC submitted. And in the main body of the document, the RRRC also changed wording around the same issue. The RRRC took some of that wording and put it in another context that completely changed the meaning. In addition, the version submitted by the RRRC had entirely new sentences added, which provided positive judgements of the program. That includes a sentence talking about the high intensity of the culling program, which had "partial success" at some sites.

Infographic: The version submitted by the RRRC had entirely new sentences added to the executive summary. (Supplied) Significantly, it also added a number of sentences suggesting the recommended changes had already been adapted, and that some of the problems raised by the report had been fixed. One sentence added by the RRRC was: "It is worth drawing attention to AMPTO's efforts in continuous improvement who, while acknowledging control was relatively haphazard initially improved the approach to ensure control was repeated adequately at the majority of sites." Ms Morris reiterated to the ABC that those improvements to the program had indeed been made. The RRRC also added a recommendation that didn't appear in Dr Engelhardt's report, and which he says he does not agree with. In emails seen by the ABC, Dr Engelhardt explicitly rejected several changes that the RRRC requested, saying he was happy for it to be published "but with NO further changes". In another email he said to RRRC staff and others involved in the program: "It is unfortunate that, at this stage, there seems to be a focus on trying to deny the obvious shortcomings of the current project, rather than accepting the need for major changes." Dr Engelhardt's report 'full of subjective opinions and not accurate' The project manager at the RRRC who was liaising with Dr Engelhardt in 2015 told the ABC the changes were sent to Dr Engelhardt for approval, but he wouldn't agree. "He kept on saying he wouldn't do it. Those comments weren't picked up. So the last final, final [version], we went, 'oh my god, he's never going to listen'," she said. The manager, who has now left the RRRC, said the report was full of subjective opinions and was not accurate. She said the changes improved the report's objectivity and its accuracy. "More than anything I was trying to protect Udo [Engelhardt] if that went out with all those things in there, he left himself out there, too," the project manager said. "There is an element there what Udo said was potentially a bit difficult for, in regards to other agencies. "Would he really be surprised? That it was submitted with some of the emotion and recommendations drained out of it? Would he be surprised? "We improved the product that the RRRC submitted. I can't see anything other than the highest motivation. "The proof in the pudding is in the program right now. It is rolling along really well." In September, the ABC revealed a board member of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, which awards contracts for these programs, was also the owner of the company subcontracted to do the actual in-water culling of starfish. That board member did not declare all her relevant interests at board meetings of the authority. She resigned a few days after the story was published. Topics:great-barrier-reef,oceans-and-reefs,environment,townsville-4810,cairns-4870,qld,australia First posted October 19, 2018 06:04:55 http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-10-19/reef-company-altered-scientist-report-crown-of-thorns-program/10391730