#the downside to this is that the dumbed down writing means the process of reading it is. so fucking boring

[dykenav]

I hate how much boring writing ruins a book for me. reading the unbroken and I’m fucking trudging through this shit bc even though to story is solid the writing is SO BLAND I’m sorry…

[bird-in-a-cage]

#42 from the prompt list... I mean I'm sorry but... I NEED TO SEE THAT.

Wow, am I sorry this took so long! This was a tough prompt but, thanks to @cockasinthebird for being a wonderful human being, we got through it. So I hope this was worth the wait!

Prompt list is here if anyone wants to throw a prompt at me!

#42: “I didn’t say “sex party” as in orgy.  I said “hex party” as in witches.”

So far, college had been okay. It was as hard and challenging as Steve had expected, but he was getting on almost well. He had to spend a lot of time studying in the library, reading and re-reading source materials, typing, editing, deleting and starting all over again with essays and assignments sure. But it was different from high school, on a deep level he wanted to be here, amongst the old stone buildings that either held no heat at all or far too much depending on the weather outside, surrounded by people who also shared a passion for learning. It was different to focus on what he wanted to learn instead of just having to cram a little bit of everything into his brain everyday.

Turns out, if he was just allowed to go a little slower and take his time, he wasn’t as dumb as everyone back home at thought.

He’d gotten into college by the skin of his teeth, pulling far too many all nighters and living off five hour energy to drag his grades up when it was almost too late, pulling in every favour he had to retake anything below a C with nothing but a prayer and a pleading smile, somehow managing to not go completely insane in the process. Getting a 3 point grade average at graduation had been nothing short of a miracle. He wanted to say his parents had nothing to do with his acceptance into quite a nice school, but in reality Steve knew they probably greased a palm or two. Maybe helped pay for the new set of band uniforms that were recently unveiled.

The college itself was beautiful. Steve had fallen for it on his first visit. Old stone buildings, a large green campus area, a good surrounding community, regular activities and groups to go meet up with and try different things with now he was getting out of small town Hawkins and away from being stuck in what he knew. 

There was something a bit…odd about the college though. Steve would be sat in the library, for example, finishing up a comparison piece when he would hear the telltale low battery beep from his headphones. He always forgot to bring a charger. He knew it was on his nightstand back in the dorm room, wrapped around the drawer handle so he wouldn’t forget to lift it this time, so it was pointless checking his bag for it. He would go to pack his things away, open up his slouchy backpack and there it would be, his exact one because he’d wrapped a piece of green tape around it when his roommate kept stealing it and swearing blind he hadn’t, laying curled around his water bottle..

That wasn’t the only example though. Things would just appear when he was looking for them. Books he needed from a completely different section would just happen to be on the shelf he was currently looking at. If a flavour of soda was sold out at a vending machine, he would pick another, but the one he originally wanted would tumble out, ice cold and somehow impossibly refreshing. None of them were a major inconvenience by far, but it was just odd. 

The only small downside to the college of his dreams is that he forgot to investigate anything about the fraternities and sororities. Steve didn’t really have any desire to be in any frat even if offered, they were just houses for boys to pretend not to be at least a little bicurious as they bumped into each other all sweaty playing sports, using basketball as an excuse to touch each other’s muscles. Flat out no homo-ing each other. Steve was out and proud at college, didn’t need an excuse anymore other than “you’re hot, you wanna?”. The days of bi-panic and needing a thinly veiled excuse such as helping someone he thought was cute off the ground in the middle of a match were long gone.  Steve had been to a couple of frat parties, naturally, everyone did. They were kinda fun if you hung around outside away from the thick, choking air of sexual tension that was threatening to bubble over at any minute.

Everyone knew frat houses were just potential orgy dens, right?

There was one frat house though, just off campus and to the right a little, that gave off a weird vibe. The Omega House. It didn’t look that special, had dark grey panelling on the outside, windows trimmed in white, the omega symbol on the outer wall above the door painted in silver that reflected the sunlight and looked almost like real silver. Like the college itself, it was just odd. As far as Steve could tell it didn’t have many members, only four, as far as he’d counted, would walk around in blazing orange letterman jackets with that emblem stitched into the back and a smaller one on the front right breast. He didn’t know what majors they took, probably all on sports scholarships with how stacked a couple of them looked, and one liked to hang around the library. Always in sunglasses even indoors, tight jeans to combat the slightly too big jacket. Blonde hair shaved at the sides but longer on top, not wildly long but just enough for natural loose curls to develop.

Not that Steve had been looking at how handsome he was at all.

Thinking about it, he seemed to always be around when the odd things happened. When there would suddenly be a spare chair even though all the tables were packed with other students trying to do their work, a fresh stack of post it notes in Steve’s bag when he needed to write an annotation down quickly, a newly sharpened pencil just happening to be on the floor by his feet when he’d lost his before class. The rain suddenly starting as soon as Steve got into a building when he’d forgotten an umbrella like it was waiting for him to be safe and dry.

There was just something weird about the whole thing. Not enough for him to freak out and want to go home though, no way. He could deal with weird and slightly odd far better than being stuck in a town going nowhere, where his only future was getting a job in his father’s company and a wife he didn’t love, cranking out a couple kids after a year of so and slowly but surely morphing into a mirror image of the man he lowkey despised.

Even the thought of that was horrifying. It was bad enough that genetically they might look similar one day. Hopefully many, many years in the future. When plastic surgery was cheap.

The library was quiet when Steve entered. Of course it was, it was a Friday night. There were a number of parties and gatherings happening all over the place, but this week he’d promised himself to be good. Study now and party later. He’d been invited to a glow paint, totally-not-a-rave party happening just outside of town that he was pretty excited for. He’d been focusing hard on his studies so it was time to let off some steam. And maybe that steam had been building for quite some time cause ol’ Lefty wasn’t doing the trick anymore, mashing his face into a pillow in the dead of night, furiously jacking off under a blanket and praying his roommate didn’t wake up or come back soon. And, maybe sometimes, Steve thought about that cute blonde in the Omega House jacket and how good it would be to see those thick lips all slick and swollen wrapped around his cock. Really those thoughts were just between him and God, who he hoped wasn’t paying attention most of the time he was alone in his room.

Steve found the spot he liked, towards the back facing towards the window where he couldn’t be distracted by people walking in, and pulled his laptop and the well annotated copy of Dracula he was working from. His half finished essay sat on the screen, cursor blinking at him accusingly, demandingly even. He sighed at it and opened up to the page he was last working from when the chair next to him was pulled out. Not even one or two over, obeying the unspoken rule of the Personal Study Bubble. No, the very next chair. Steve could see orange reflected on his screen. He frowned slightly and turned to just give a passing glance, hoping for a the fuck? expression, when he saw staggeringly blue eyes staring back, nestled into tan freckled skin, natural curls just reaching down into the field of view. The regular sunglasses had been tucked up into the neck of a black tee. The back of Steve’s neck felt instantly hot as he looked away, hoping for a moment he hadn’t been seen, but that was impossible. He was right there.

“Hey, haven’t seen you around before. Must be in the same class though.” His voice was deep and Steve felt his legs turn a little bit to jello. He chanced another glance and saw the guy was holding a copy of Dracula too. Steve wasn’t sure he’d been holding it before… 

“Well, I attend almost every lecture…”

“You must do if you’re in here by yourself on a Friday,” the guy smiled. It didn’t look cruel, neither did it sound like he was making fun. This was already confusing, and Steve wasn’t the greatest with people at the best of times, let alone he around guys he thought were kind of stupidly handsome from afar, and apparently just stunning close up.

Steve just nodded and shifted in his seat slightly since this guy clearly wasn’t going to go away any time soon. He didn’t have anything on the table in front of him, didn’t even look like he had a backpack for the potential of anything. The odd feeling was definitely strong and getting stronger. “Can I… can I help you with something?”

“That depends,” the book was quickly tossed aside and the guy nudged closer with his chair, Steve could smell his cologne. It didn’t smell like anything he’d tried before. It was floral but dark and spicy, but also fruity too. Slightly burnt lemon and vanilla loaf? His hand wrapped easily around Steve’s freer one. His skin was warm, a little rough maybe from weightlifting which he clearly did, applying a comforting amount of pressure. Steve couldn’t help the skin on his arm breaking out in goose pimples. He glanced at their hands together and his throat felt impossibly tight. “I’m Billy by the way.”

“Steve...”

“Great. So, I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but things can be a little, strange around here-”

Steve glanced at their hands again, felt that blue steel bore into his eyes and further back. “Oh they’re strange alright…”

“You ever wondered why?” This guy, Billy, grinned something devilish and let Steve’s hand go only to put it on his knee, squeezing firm but not unpleasant. Steve was sure he was starting to sweat under the attention of all this. Yeah he had fooled around with a couple guys drunk at parties, stumbled into a dorm room or two he didn’t recognise to have some fun and wake up with carpet burns over his back and his knees, but this felt very direct. Especially when Billy’s hand started slowly drifting higher. Steve couldn’t even say he didn’t want it, he’d been staring at this guy from a distance for months now, but to have him suddenly be right in front and touching with obvious intent. It was something else.

“Uh, n-not really. Sometimes maybe?”

Billy’s eyes turned from cool to blazingly erotic in an instant, for just a moment, then back to cool again. He nudged even closer into Steve’s bubble, who was more helpless than a fish on dry land at this moment. 

“Would you like to know why?” The way Billy’s tongue licked over the L was something filthy. If Steve had been set jello before he was now quickly melting into a sweet pool of tangy cherry. “My friends and I can show you.”

Steve felt like he was drowning. This wasn’t happening, it couldn’t be happening. But still BIlly’s firm hand crept ever higher until he was practically cupping Steve through his jeans, inching closer until their lips were connected in the middle of the library. Steve’s eyes fluttered closed. He was already boiling alive in his skin from all the attention and Billy’s lips weren’t helping. They were as plush as Steve had imagined. Maybe not in the right area just yet but with the way Billy was pushing his palm directly against Steve’s slowly awakening dick they just might be soon.

He was half hard when Billy pulled away, flushed bright red like he’d been sunburnt.

“Come by the house tomorrow night, you’ll see. We promise you’ll enjoy it.” 

With that, Billy winked, slipped his sunglasses back on and left. Steve blinked at nothing for a long time, trying to piece together what the hell had just happened to him.

Did… did he just get invited to an orgy?

He packed up quickly and went back to his dorm, there was no way any studying was going to happen now. It didn’t happen throughout all of Saturday either. Just the memory of the whole short incident rolling around and around in Steve’s mind, of Billy’s words dripping from those lips and the feel of his hand pressing just right.

He’d definitely gotten invited to an orgy.

He lay on his bed for a while just thinking, tapping his forefingers together as something for them to do. Steve was kind of flattered really, he knew he was nice looking, but there were far better looking guys on campus, and from the stories he’d heard they’d probably be up for it no questions asked. It also popped into his head that the guys he’d seen wearing the orange Omega jackets were a lot more jacked than he was, and Steve had seen enough porn to know what that probably meant. A part of him knew this was utterly insane. Shit like this didn’t happen without a bored camera crew and fourteen different close up angles.

But then maybe it did happen. He was from a small town after all. He was pretty sure his neighbours three doors down were swingers from all the cars that would suddenly appear once a month for just a night. Least that was the rumor that he may or may not have pushed a couple times. And, afterall, wasn’t this what college was about? Being out there and experimenting with crazy shit you wouldn’t do in the real world. He’d taken ecstasy in his first few weeks at a warehouse party, he had no desire to do that back home.

So, maybe he was warming up to the idea of being a bottom at an orgy party being held in the weird grey frat house. Who was anyone to judge? Steve just wasn’t going to tell anyone about it, that’s all.

He felt nervous standing on the front steps of the Omega House. All the blinds were drawn inside. He didn’t know what to bring, what was customary? It didn’t feel right to bring, like, snacks, so he’d just brought himself, already flushing and trying not to get hard by just the thought of Billy getting his hands on him again, how good he must look naked and sweating, finding out what those lips could really do.

The man himself answered the door after two sharp knocks. The grin he wore was sinful, eyes wild and excited, grip firm as he pulled Steve easily inside the dark room. Steve wasn’t sure what to expect, but low mood lighting, a coffee table in the middle of three couches covered in books and blank papers, and every other surface holding up thick lit candles dripping with wax wasn’t it. It also appeared to be just the two of them.

It wasn’t entirely what he had signed up for. But Steve wasn’t exactly complaining.

“Man, am I happy you actually came,” Billy started, pulling his letterman off and hanging it over the banister like a coat hook. His black tee had the sleeves ripped off, his arms were nothing short of statue worthy. He ruffled his hair a little, the curls bobbing just so. They looked delightfully soft. “The rest of the guys are at some sorority bullshit, but they’ll be here later.”

“Uh, o-okay, cool.” Steve tried to sound confident as he went to go take a seat on one of the couches. Billy sat next to him, up close and personal again and it wasn’t the worst thing in the world. He was radiating body heat which Steve wanted to eat up greedily. He noticed some of the books on the table. A copy of Frankenstein, a very old looking copy of Dracula, maybe second edition, a copy of Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, and copies of both Malleus Maleficarum and A Guide to Modern Witchcraft. Those titles mixed with all the candles and the mood lighting and Billy’s staring and frankly demonic grin led Steve down the path that seemed the most obvious to him.

This was a sex cult house. And it was about to get all Rosemary’s Baby up in here.

Billy’s hand was back on his thigh again, heavy and pressing, taking Steve out of his deep barrel of thoughts. The grin was back on his tanned features. “You look nervous.” He gave Steve’s thigh a squeeze. Even though he had no idea what was going on it still made his cock jump alert in his jeans.

“Well, I’ve never exactly been to… one of these before…”

Billy’s eyebrows furrowed together a little, he still wore a smile though. It suited his face. “One of what?”

“You know...?” Steve rolled his hands as his face turned ever redder. He was sure it could almost be seen from space. He wasn’t a prude by any means, but growing up in quite a strict household meant he just struggled saying some things out loud. So he whispered it instead. “...an orgy?”

Billy stared at him for a moment before breaking into laughter that wasn’t at all humiliating. He must have sensed Steve’s rapidly growing discomfort and indignity because the laughter quickly died and turned more into gentle questioning. “Did you think that was what this was gonna be?”

“Well I don’t know what else this would be!” Steve spat out in frustration. He hated not knowing the whole story and here he felt he barely even knew the first line of the novel. Billy smiled warm like a summer day and cupped his cheek. He felt instantly calmed, being swallowed up by those cool blues like a gentle river on an August afternoon.  “I said I’d explain about all the odd things that happen around campus. They’re from us in this house. We’re kind of, different.”

“Different how?”

Billy took his hand back and snapped his fingers loud and piercing. All the candles extinguished themselves at once. Not a breeze to be felt. It wasn’t scary, or spooky, but it was pretty cool. “Different different. You’re the only person who’s seemed to notice. And, by house law, that means you get initiated. You get to know that we’re all witches.”

The word hung in the air and seemed ridiculous. But, at the same time, it didn’t. It did certainly explain how chargers and post its and pencils would suddenly just appear whenever Steve needed them. He still wasn’t completely convinced though.

“Witches?” He repeated back carefully, just in case he’d heard that wrong too. Billy nodded and clapped his hands. Every candle reignited themselves, flickering back to life one by one in a circle around the room. A bottle of whiskey and cans of coke appeared on the table where there had been just papers before. The books remained. There was a proud look on his face. Short of being drugged at the door and this all being a crazy fever dream, this was definitely real. Steve didn’t really have any reason to not believe his eyes and what was happening around him. Billy didn’t look like David Copperfield that was for sure. “So, not an orgy?”

“No. Not an orgy.” Billy chuckled and repeated back. He must have seen Steve’s face go from confused to understanding to a little disappointed all within the space of a few seconds because his hand was high on Steve’s thigh again. Maybe the guy just didn’t understand personal space? That seemed growingly likely. “I don’t think I’d wanna share you anyway.”

Steve felt the flush on his face again, but he grinned through it this time. Weird, spooky, otherworldly shit could be saved for later if there was even a chance of getting what he’d been thinking alone in his bed. “But you’d wanna maybe...?”

He let the question stay floating between them as Billy smirked lewd and pressed himself up against Steve’s body. “Bet you’d love to find out what I can do with my fingers pretty boy…”

Oh, Steve really would.

[jessgartner]

2020 Life Olympics

The real Olympics may have been canceled in 2020 but the Life Olympics persevered like the postal service of Olympics. 

First, I’d like to apologize for my role in the chaos of 2020 because I think I had a slight miscommunication with the powers that be and I feel partly responsible. Here was my plan for 2020: 

My theme for 2020 is Intention because I want to take the energy I feel right now and deploy it with more intentionality next year - bringing increased mindfulness to how I spend my time, money, physical and mental energy. And because I love wordplay, I also literally want to spend more time camping “in-tent” to enjoy more peace and quiet and beauty in nature.

The universe was like, “Oh, she wants to spend less money and more time outside? Well, shut it down. Shut the whole planet down.”

I mean, mission accomplished, I guess? I did spend less money and more time outside and had to be VERY intentional with my mental energy to survive the day-to-day morass of 2020. Next time, I will be more specific with my annual manifestations. Sorry to all. 

2020 was brutal for pretty much everything and everyone. I don’t know anyone who isn’t in some state of grief right now, including myself. I debated doing a Life Olympics at all this year, feeling like-- what is the point? Hundreds of thousands of people died, our democracy is hanging on by a thread, and millions of people lost jobs, businesses, and homes. 

Like many people, I’ve been struggling with anxiety and depression this year which intensified as it got darker and colder outside. At a low point, I talked with my therapist about the struggle of just not wanting to do any of the things that usually bring me joy-- and how periods of relief were so fleeting. “But you have to keep doing those things,” she said, “even if they’re not working right now, you have to keep doing those things and trust the process; the joy will return.” 

So even though I don’t really feel like it and kind of feel like it’s dumb, I’m writing the 2020 Life Olympics. I’m trusting the process.

2020 Life Olympics Recap

Work - Participation Trophy

Starting a company is hard, operating a company is harder, but running a company during a global pandemic and economic crisis is something I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy. 2020 was not a fun year to lead a business; it was hell. On March 15, the plan for the year pretty much went out the window and everything went into survival mode. I never take the company or my team for granted, but I’m particularly grateful to be able to usher this work into 2021.

Despite the craziness, we still had some big wins this year. We launched new product partnerships with PowerSchool and Amazon Business. We rebuilt our tool for equitably calculating district funding formulas. And I got to flex my creative muscles with EdFinToks! Throughout it all, I was lucky enough to be surrounded by a team of people who are as compassionate as they are talented. 

I’m worried about public education more than ever after this year, but I’m going to keep fighting every day to make it work better for kids. 

This is Work-Lite but I also spent a good chunk of time this year leading the modernization workgroup for Bill Henry’s transition committee after his spring primary election to become the new Baltimore City Comptroller, ousting a 25-year incumbent, Joan Pratt. This was an enlightening (and infuriating) experience for me that gave me a glimpse into the operations of a segment of the City government. This process also really helped crystallize how much I enjoy making public agencies function more efficiently; I’m excited to see what Bill does with the recommendations (some are already being put in action!)

Health - Gold 

This is the second year in a row (and ever) that I’m giving myself a Gold medal for Health. This was easily a year that I could have regressed on all of my healthy habits and no one would have blamed me. Instead, I leaned into protecting and improving my physical and mental health in 2020. It’s not an exaggeration to say that walking probably saved my life this year. I spent a lot of time walking around my neighborhood and various state and city parks-- walking is maybe not the best word; I stomp and charge around like I have a score to settle with the ground beneath me. My walking increased 370% in 2020. This is a habit of 2020 that I’d like to keep. My brain and body are happier if I can spend a little time walking-- stomping-- around outside each day. 

I also did a lot of biking this summer. My cycling increased 200% this year-- with much more time spent cycling outdoors. My crowning achievement this year was biking to and from Annapolis:

I spent a LOT more time outside this year which was critical for my mental health. On the downside, I only did 90% as much yoga and 60% as much strength training, so I want to try to be a little more balanced next year. 

I also invested a lot in my mental health this year. I kept up with therapy every 2-4 weeks and in October I decided to pursue a formal diagnosis for ADHD which I definitely have! Needless to say, staying in one place this year has been a special kind of hell for me. 

Home - Silver

Well, I definitely spent less money this year. And the way I did spend money made me (mostly) sad: 

Travel down 70% 

Auto & Transportation up 200% (boo cars)

Shopping down 60%

Personal Care down 35% 

Gifts and donations up 200% 

Food and Dining down 40%

Entertainment down 35% (I kept up my singing lessons virtually which accounts for a lot of this category) 

2020 was quite the palate cleanser from my 2019 year of hedonism but maybe we can go for a happy medium in 2021? Just kidding-- I will resume my hedonist ways the minute the world opens. 

I also redid my home office like every other work-from-homer on the planet and replaced my crumbling kitchen floor so the house got some TLC. 

But nobody enjoyed having me home all year as much as Darwin:

Relationships - Bronze

What a weird year for relationships of all kinds. I’m giving this a Bronze because while I invested a lot into a few relationships this year, there are also a lot of people in my life to whom I haven’t been able to give my time and love. 

One of the most important relationships in my life this year was with one of my former students. After bouncing around in the foster system for many years, we reconnected around the holidays in 2019 and he started crashing with me while we tried to figure out stable housing and employment. He was arrested in January and was incarcerated for the next several months awaiting trial. Finally, we were able to negotiate a plea agreement with the State’s Attorney and he came home around Independence Day. We spent the next several months getting him set up with a phone and various identification documents-- a nightmare in normal times and a total abyss during the pandemic. I got him registered to vote when we got his ID card and I took him to vote for the first time (a supreme treat for this former social studies teacher):

He’s now got a full-time job and stable living situation. Calling this THE success of 2020. Thank you to everyone who helped me with resources all year for housing, legal processes, and documents. It takes a village. 

It was a bizarre year for family. We lost my grandmother in September, so not being able to spend the holidays together felt like an especially cruel loss. Other big losses this year include a trip to France to celebrate a milestone birthday for my mother and my brother and sister-in-law’s wedding (Mosby seemed pretty ok with the alternative plan, though):

But in many ways, my family has been more together than ever this year thanks to prolific group chats and photo-sharing. Mostly, I’m just glad everyone else is safe and healthy. As my father often reminds me, “Our problems are small.” 

And dating? What to do with this weird Jane-Austen-esque dating scene-- as if modern dating weren’t fraught enough. Is this the universe punishing me for ending my 2019 dating hiatus early? I, for one, have given up. You win this one, pandemic. I’m just going to have my little Twitter crush and call it a year. Next year, though...

Horizons - Silver Gold 

You know what? It’s hard to expand your horizons without people or places. 

I did the best I could. I finally got back on track with my Goodreads challenge and actually had a really good year of reading, including finally embracing audiobooks through my Libro.fm subscriptions. I especially enjoyed Michelle Obama’s book Becoming and Mike Birbiglia’s The New One on audio-- both narrated by their authors. 

I camped in Pocomoke (MD), Western MD, Lake Michigan, and Ohiopyle (PA):

I explored over 30 new hiking/biking trails-- some favorites including the Youghiegheny River trail in PA, the NCR trail, Catoctin Mountain, the C&O Canal Towpath, Annapolis Rock, and of course, Stoney Run in my backyard. 

I left Facebook and started the Life Olympics newsletter. I’ll be honest, I don’t miss Facebook but I also don’t understand where that energy, time, and brain space went. I was spending cumulatively hours a day mindlessly scrolling Facebook and I quit cold turkey and barely noticed-- what black hole of our brains does social media occupy? I kind of thought that with all that extra time I would write the next great American novel or something. I’m probably spending a little more time on Twitter, which I could stand to cut back on. Other than that, I think I was just trying to process the shitstorm of this year. Maybe I’ll write the next great American novel post-pandemic. 

For the first time in my life, I feel somewhat ‘caught up’ on pop-culture. I finally watched Parks and Recreation (twice); I watched The Mandalorian and finally actually watched Star Wars (episodes IV-IX); I watched the final seasons of The Good Place and Schitt’s Creek; I’m caught up on Insecure; I watched The Prom and Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom and Jingle Jangle; I even started Bridgerton. I know what everyone is talking about and I’m catching so many more pop-culture references these days. (I guess instead of writing the next great American novel I watched Netflix?)

2020 Lessons

I’ve spent plenty of time mourning the missed opportunities of 2020 and will probably always wonder what this year could have been in an alternate universe with a functioning government. But we only have this reality for now, and we made the best of it. 

I wanted to slow down in 2020, try to be more intentional, more mindful, and...

No thank you! I liked the pace of my life; it makes my brain and heart happy. I’m happiest when I wake up in a different city three days in a row. I like darting around every borough of Manhattan for nine meetings and three cocktails and then taking a red-eye to Europe. I want to run around to eight conferences for 18-hours a day for three weeks and then sleep for 22 hours. I miss overloading my brain so much that I need a deprivation chamber to sleep. This is who I am. This is how I like to live. And when I was locked down alone in the house for a year, slowing down, being mindful, I never once thought, “I should have... when I had the chance.” Because I always did. And I always will. 

2021

We shake with joy, we shake with grief.

What a time they have, these two housed as they are in the same body.

Mary Oliver

We’ve had enough grief. 2021 is going to be all about joy.

Universe, let me be clear: this is not a euphemism or code or secret signal.

I want pure, unadulterated, abundant, joy. I want multi-course dinners in restaurants with lots of close friends and good wine. I want the virus so far gone that I can make-out with handsome strangers. I want a rollicking good time in France and/or Brazil and/or Prague and/or New Zealand and/or Bali. I want to spend the day after Christmas in NYC with my father. I want to be a glutton for theatre and art and music. I want celebrations and parties and sequins. 

I want to shake with joy. 

If you’d like to receive the (shorter) monthly Life Olympics, subscribe here. 

[mobappdevelopmentcompany]

React Native App Development: Benefits, Challenges and Mistakes to Avoid!

React Native is undoubtedly one of the most widely used cross-platform frameworks for creating native-like apps. This framework can be easily used for developing brand-new apps from scratch and even in existing iOS or Android projects. So, it is immensely popular and loved by beginners as well as experienced developers. Consequently, the demand for React Native app development services is on the rise across the globe. Here are the top benefits it offers to one and all.

Foremost Advantages of React Native app development

Use of JavaScript and easy learning curve, especially for new developers

Code re-usability for a speedy development process

Pre-built components and third-party plugins to create feature-packed good-quality apps from scratch

Creation of performance-based apps with higher reliability and stability

Technical goodies like modular architecture, declarative coding style, and ‘hot-reload’ feature to enhance the productivity of React Native app developers

Rich and friendly UI/UX design

Powerful and knowledgeable community to support

An easy and direct installation method

Faster time-to-market

Creates solutions that allow adaptation to Android and iOS along with smart TVs, VR devices, etc., since it is a cross-platform framework

With so many outstanding advantages to offer, this framework has a bright future. But like any other framework, there are several challenges or limitations that are inherently associated with React Native app development. Here we have outlined a few of them.

Probable Challenges in the React Native App Development Process

One of the challenges in this framework is the dependency on native app developers, especially while dealing with complex and heavy computational processes. Another challenge, rather limitation, is that this framework does not support parallel threading or multiprocessing. So the performance of the apps slows down while executing multiple processes simultaneously.

Also, the abstraction layers in React Native have certain limitations. They have a dependency on third-party services and libraries. Finding bugs in abstraction layers is quite difficult; hence resolving them too is time-consuming. Another challenge while using this framework is faced during iOS deployment since testing the iPhone apps on any other testing service except Apple’s TestFlight is quite annoying.

Despite these challenges, React Native is a preferred choice of mobile app development companies for writing robust and natively rendered applications. Moreover, these challenges can be handled well by experienced developers, whereas, a beginner or an unskilled developer tends to make more mistakes.

So, for the development of a flawless end-product, react native developers, particularly the newbies, must have prior knowledge about these probable errors. Let us have a glimpse of the commonest React Native App Development mistakes that could be avoided. during the creation of React Native apps.

React Native App Development Mistakes to Avoid

Improper image optimization

Image optimization, despite being a crucial step in app development, is commonly ignored by developers. But optimizing the images is necessary for reducing the load time of images. It helps in resizing the images locally and then allows uploading them automatically on the cloud storage like Amazon S3 by the server. After this, the developers get a CDN link that can be returned through the API. This entire process makes the app lightweight and boosts app performance.

Presence of console log statements

Console log statements allow the React Native app developers to easily detect bugs while debugging. These make the apps glitch-free during app execution stages. These also help to detect the reasons behind the low performance of the apps. But, in case the developers fail to remove the log statements after completion of the debugging process, it can cause blunders. If the logic and the render methods are kept inside the apps, they can lead to congestion in the JavaScript thread and ultimately slow down the app performance.

Inappropriate Redux store planning

Redux is quite useful in React Native for managing the apps effectively, handling and storing the gathered data correctly, debugging app states, etc. But Redux must be planned well for utilizing it to the fullest, or it may lead to issues, especially in small projects. This is so because Redux demands writing long codes even for the smallest of modifications. So, it isn’t suited much for small-scale projects but is a good choice for larger apps and projects.

Inaccurate or wrong project estimation

The chances of committing mistakes while estimating for project in React Native are higher for various reasons as given below:

The layouts and structures of app pages for iOS and Android are different. Also, several common components can be interchangeably used for development but the design of the app in most cases will not be alike. As a result, estimation for both platforms can be different.

The code to be written in React Native is usually larger as compared to the code required in the development of a Hybrid app on Cordova. In such cases, the assessment of the validation layout also must be considered.

All the endpoints offered by the backend must be checked. Other vitals like understanding the data structure, connecting the entities, handling the logic, etc. must be considered during estimating the project.

If the React Native developers are not aware of these differences, they can estimate incorrect dates for project completion, leading to hassle in the later stages.

Utilization of stateless components

A stateless component means that the components don’t extend any class. These always render the same thing and print out only what is provided to them through props. These are also known as dumb components. But, stateless components can be implemented faster, reduce the amount of boilerplate code to be written, and enable easy testing. In the app creation process, it is advisable to use pure components instead of stateless components. This is so because, for stateless components, rendering happens after the re-rendering of the parent component. But for pure components, re-rendering takes place when a change is detected in the states or props.

Not verifying external module codes

React Native app developers commonly use external modules as this makes the development faster and easier and thus, saves time. But these modules may not work as expected or even break at times. Hence, the developers must read and verify external module codes before using them.

Not considering unit testing

One of the most common mistakes developers can commit during the React Native app development process is not writing a unit test. The apps can still function irrespective of whether unit tests are conducted or not, but such apps may not provide a great experience to the users and could be less competent in the market. Unit testing enables assessing different parts and functionalities of the apps and ensure they work as expected. It also helps to detect bugs in advance and make sure that the app segments run independently.

Top of Form

Final Words:

React Native has the potential to become “The Best” framework amongst all the available frameworks in the market. It is already being used by big players like Facebook, Delivery.com, UberEats, Bloomberg, Skype, Instagram, Tesla, and many more. It has some downsides as well, but those can be minimized to a great extent if every React Native app development company trains its developers on diligently handling the common mistakes well in advance.

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[evolutionsvoid]

Those who have read my previous entries will know that when I speak of the monsters in magic, I am referring to the Mancers. Pyromancers, Psychomancers and Mycomancers to name a few; all magic users who have been corrupted by an element to become some inhuman monstrosity. Though my writing focuses on them, I would be remiss to ignore other abominations that are birthed by magic. The Vacuumancer is one of them (despite having a name with "mancer" in it. Their official status is still up in the air), a husk of humanity created when one goes too far with their magical abilities. They are not tied to any element like real Mancers, but they are dangers to our world just the same. Since I have already talked about Vacuumancers, it was time I brought up the other side of the magical spectrum. Vacuumancers are what happens when the mana in the Splenius magus implodes into itself (known as a "Mana Sink"), now let us see what happens when the mana decides to explode.   So far there is no fancy title for cases like these, so we call it what it is: a "Mana Surge." As one should know by now, we humans get our versatile magical prowess from our Splenius magus, the muscle that creates and uses mana. We draw from our natural mana to fuel spells or to transfer it into magical objects for later use. Early in life, and early in any magical training, this muscle is quite small and weak. The amount of mana it can create is pitiful, hardly enough to fuel more then two or three novice level spells. Though it seems rather tiny and useless, we must remember that it is a muscle, and muscles will only get stronger with use. By training and practicing with magic, one can exercise their Splenius magus and help it grow in size and strength. That is why you often see mages and wizards using magic at all times, as they are exercising that muscle. Using spells to levitate books or make brooms sweep floors on their own may seem silly, but the workout they provide is invaluable. Not practicing your magic on a daily basis is a good way to let your Splenius magus atrophy, a common failure of high-up sorcerers and mages who get soft from luxury and status. If you want the ability to cast high-level spells and perform summoning rituals without having to rely on boosting runes or extra artifacts, then you better start practicing! A big Splenius magus is the sign of a well trained mage and a powerful magic user. If you didn't already know, the term "Mage's Stole" is referring to the Splenius magus. When one grows this muscle to the extreme, the back of the neck appears swollen, with veins running over the shoulders and down the chest. If you are walking through an academy and spot someone walking around with a thickened neck you can safely assume that they are a teacher or headmaster of the school. 

The reason I go into this subject is because the growth of the Spenius magus is crucial for any magic user to increase their power. A bigger muscle means more mana, which means more fuel for spells and rituals. With this it should be obvious that every magic user and their mother desperately wants a stronger Splenius magus, and they want it now. Training and exercise is the way to reach that, but there are some who find that process too slow. Like the lazy fools who want a warrior's body but won't put in the effort to workout, there are mages who want a shortcut to a true Mage's Stole. There are dozens of supposed spells, potion, oils, tonics and other crap that people hock to lazy wizards, claiming that they help make the Splenius magus grow stronger and quicker. Of course most of this junk is useless snake oil sold for easy coin. As the saying goes, "deception only takes root where gullibility grows" or in other words, "they wouldn't be making this junk if there weren't people stupid enough to buy it."   While most of this magic muscle boosting stuff is worthless, there are some attempts that aren't just colored apple juice and frozen cow bile. There are some who have found specific potions and spells that aid in the growth of the Splenius magus. Ones that "actually work." In all fairness, they do actually make the muscle grow in power. The problem is that this all comes with horrendous downsides. One must remember that the Splenius magus is the source of the body's mana. It's quite the complicated muscle, so tampering with it in unnatural ways is a surefire way to cause something to go horribly wrong. Using improper spells or techniques has the potential to "break" the Splenius magus, which can lead to what we call a "Mana Surge." A Mana Surge is the opposite of a Mana Sink. While a Mana Sink constantly consumes the body's mana at an alarming rate, a Mana Surge creates mana at impossible speeds. Something within the muscle is damaged, and the body can no longer tell when to stop producing this energy, causing it to grow out of control. Within minutes, the neck of the victim will swell to obscene sizes, and the mana packed inside desperately seeks an exit. This results in the energy burning into the veins and traveling throughout the body, storing itself in every nook and cranny of the human anatomy. Even though it finds a place to disperse, the muscle is still pumping out energy, which is also looking for a place to store itself. Over the course of hours, the entire body will swell with mana. The neck, stomach, back and breasts will be the main areas where it will build up, painfully growing with each passing second. In time, the energy will burn into the organs and brain, overriding the body and reducing the victim to a mindless, pained shell. During these advanced stages, the person is usually reduced to agonized howls and screams as their body is burned from the inside out. While this all sounds horrible, it isn't the final stage. Eventually the body will run out of room for the mana, and it will once again seek relief from the building pressure. If there isn't room inside the body, then it will try to get out. Raw mana will force its way out of any orifice or weakness of the skin, blowing seared holes in the shambling corpse. At this stage, you will find the victim with burned out eyes, nose, mouth, nipples, anus and other unfortunate parts, as the mana uses them as "easy exits." This creates the issue where the victim is now firing raw mana in every direction, which is not safe for any living being. These burning missiles can fry practically anything they hit, and can easily blast a smoking hole through most conventional armor. The burned out face of the victim practically belches out fiery blasts of raw mana, which can vaporize anything in front of it. At this point, many are quick to leave the room, which is not nearly enough for this situation. Keep in mind that this poor sap is filled to bursting with raw, magical energy. Sooner or later, that skin suit is going to pop, and you don't want to be in the same kingdom when that happens. Sooner or later, the Mana Surge is going to reach a point where its body can no longer hold back all that pressure. Hours after its horrible, swollen conception, the Mana Surge will rupture, releasing all the stored mana in a massive explosion. This detonation is capable of wiping entire towns off the map, and it will infect the area with an unnatural magical aura that will infest the land for years to come. So when a Mana Surge is created, it is advised that everyone within a few miles of the creature drop what they were doing and run for their lives. There is no telling when the body will rupture, so it is best to leave as soon as possible. Stopping such a blast is impossible, as the Splenius magus will just keep churning out mana. Attempts to destroy the muscle often just leads to the whole thing detonating regardless, so that isn't a good idea. The tools of the humming ones might be able to slow the process or disrupt it long enough to destroy, but I have not heard of them encountering a Mana Surge yet, so I cannot say. What I can say is that though one cannot stop it, they can delay the explosion. If one is able to carefully siphon away mana from the swollen carcass, then they can relieve some of the pressure that causes the rupture. By using draining artifacts and spells, one can delay the explosion and potentially steer the Surge away from critical areas. The best case scenario is pushing it into some empty field and letting it blow, but this is quite difficult and risky. Any wrong move can prematurely detonate the creature, obliterating anyone within the blast radius. Thankfully, Mana Surges are not very common, as they require extreme levels of stupidity to occur. You need a magic user dumb enough to try and use a boosting spell, and for them to be greedy and incompetent enough to botch it or overdo it. Even then, it may just cause muscle necrosis or result in them immolating themselves on accident. In very few cases does such a mistake result in a Mana Surge, and we should be grateful. Though these monstrosities only last for several hours, the effects they leave behind last for decades. The aura of raw mana that infests their blast zones persist for years, and can be dangerous to those who spend too much time in its warping presence. Areas where Mana Surges have detonated are deemed uninhabitable, and any town caught in the aura is abandoned. There are some desperate folk who try looting such places, or try to build homes in these abandoned lands. I highly advise that no one ever try to do that. Yes, being in the aura for a few hours is not too dangerous, but prolonged exposure can cause some horrific mutations. It may be tempting for someone to try and pillage these lands for gold, food and resources, but looks can be deceiving. Yes, it may appear that there are a bunch of healthy trees growing in these infected zones, but take a closer look at these supposed "trees."  Chances are they aren't plants, or at least they didn't used to be... Cavarious Shaid

[mobappdevelopmentcompany]

React Native App Development: Benefits, Challenges and Mistakes to Avoid!

React Native is undoubtedly one of the most widely used cross-platform frameworks for creating native-like apps. This framework can be easily used for developing brand-new apps from scratch and even in existing iOS or Android projects. So, it is immensely popular and loved by the beginners as well as experienced developers. Consequently, the demand for React Native development services is on the rise across the globe. Here are the top benefits it offers to one and all.

Foremost Advantages of React Native app development

Use of JavaScript and easy learning curve, especially for new developers

Code re-usability for a speedy development process

Pre-built components and third-party plugins to create feature-packed good-quality apps from scratch

Creation of performance-based apps with higher reliability and stability

Technical goodies like modular architecture, declarative coding style, and ‘hot-reload’ feature to enhance the productivity of React Native app developers

Rich and friendly UI/UX design

Powerful and knowledgeable community to support

An easy and direct installation method

Faster time-to-market

Creates solutions that allow adaptation to Android and iOS along with smart TVs, VR devices, etc., since it is a cross-platform framework

With so many outstanding advantages to offer, this framework has a bright future. But like any other framework, there are several challenges or limitations that are inherently associated with React Native app development. Here we have outlined a few of them.

Probable Challenges in the React Native App Development Process

One of the challenges in this framework is the dependency on native app developers, especially while dealing with complex and heavy computational processes. Another challenge, rather limitation, is that this framework does not support parallel threading or multiprocessing. So the performance of the apps slows down while executing multiple processes simultaneously.

Also, the abstraction layers in React Native have certain limitations. They have a dependency on third-party services and libraries. Finding bugs in abstraction layers is quite difficult; hence resolving them too is time-consuming. Another challenge while using this framework is faced during iOS deployment since testing the iPhone apps on any other testing service except Apple’s Testflight is quite annoying.

Despite these challenges, React Native is a preferred choice of React Native app development services for writing robust natively rendered apps. Moreover, these challenges can be handled well by experienced developers, whereas, a fresher or an unskilled developer tends to make more mistakes.

So, for the development of a flawless end-product, it is essential especially for new developers to be aware of these mistakes in advance. So let us have a glimpse at the probable mistakes that could be avoided during the creation of React Native apps.

Common React Native App Development Mistakes to Avoid

Improper image optimization

Image optimization, despite being a crucial step in app development, is commonly ignored by the developers. But optimizing the images is necessary for reducing the load time of images. It helps in resizing the images locally and then allows uploading them automatically on the cloud storage like Amazon S3 by server. After this, the developers get a CDN link that can be returned through the API. This entire process makes the app lightweight and boosts app performance.

Presence of console log statements

Console log statements allow the React Native app developers to easily detect bugs while debugging. These make the apps glitch-free while app execution stages. These also help to understand the reasons behind the low performance of the apps. But, in case the developers fail to remove the log statements after completion of the debugging process, it can cause blunders. If the logics and the render methods are kept inside the apps, they can lead to congestion in the JavaScript thread and ultimately slow down the app performance.

Inappropriate Redux store planning

Redux is quite useful in React Native for managing the apps effectively, handling and storing the gathered data correctly, debugging app states, etc. But Redux must be planned well for utilizing it to the fullest, or it may lead to issues, especially in small projects. This is so because Redux demands writing long codes even for the smallest of modifications. So, it isn’t suited much for small scale projects but is a good choice for larger apps and projects.

Inaccurate or Wrong Project Estimation

The chances of making mistakes while project estimation in React Native are higher for various reasons as given below:

The layouts and structures of app pages for iOS and Android are different. Also, several common components can be interchangeably used for development but the design of the app in most cases will not be alike. As a result, estimation for both platforms can be different.

The code to be written in React Native is usually larger as compared to the code required in the development of a Hybrid app on Cordova. In such cases, the assessment of the validation layout also must be considered.

All the endpoints offered by the backend must be checked. Other vitals like understanding the data structure, connecting the entities, handling of the logic, etc. must be considered during estimating the project.

If the React Native developers are not aware of these differences, they can estimate incorrect dates for project completion, leading to hassle in the later stages.

Utilization of stateless components

A stateless component means that the components don’t extend any class. These always render the same thing and print out only what is provided to them through props. These are also called as dumb components. But, stateless components can be implemented faster, reduce the amount of boilerplate code to be written, and enable easy testing. In the app creation process, it is advisable to use pure components instead of stateless components. This is so because, for stateless components, rendering happens after the re-rendering of the parent component. But for pure components, re-rendering takes place when a change is detected in the states or props.

Not verifying external module codes

React Native app developers commonly use external modules as this makes the development faster and easier and thus, saves time. But these modules may not work as expected or even break at times. Hence, the developers must read and verify external module codes before using them.

Not considering unit testing

One of the most common mistakes developers can commit during the React Native app development process is not writing a unit test. The apps can still function irrespective of whether unit tests are conducted or not, but such apps may not provide a great experience to the users and could be less competent in the market. Unit testing enables assessing different parts and functionalities of the apps and ensure they work as expected. It also helps to detect bugs in advance and make sure that the app segments run independently.

Final Words:

React Native has the potential to become “The Best” framework amongst all the available frameworks in the market. It is already being used by big players like Facebook, Delivery.com, UberEats, Bloomberg, Skype, Instagram, Tesla, and many more. It has some downsides as well, but those can be minimized to a great extent if every React Native app development company trains its developers on diligently handling the common mistakes well in advance.

We hope this blog was helpful to you! Let us know your vital thoughts on this. Please feel free to comment here or drop us a mail at sales.enquiry@biz4solutions.com !