#the plan is 4 post per day get ready lolol

[bridgeportbritt]

Victory Gym | Sage, SimDonia

Anne: Welcome, Your Royal Highness.

Gerhard: Thanks, Anne. How are you this fine Thursday morning?

Anne: I'm doing great, sir. Let’s get started, shall we? Right this way.

Anne: You, of course, can't miss the full size basketball court with spectator seats on your left. Plenty of space for press, as well.

Gerhard: Nice. And the flooring is SimBA approved?

Anne: Yes, we worked with them directly on the design of the court.

Gerhard: Great. This is perfect.

Anne: I'm glad to hear that, sir. Let’s head upstairs.

Gerhard: Alright, lead the way.

Anne: This is our training facility with state-of the-art equipment.

Gerhard: Wow, this is perfect for all the athletes and just SimDonians in general.

Anne: We'll have it set up for arrivals as requested.

Gerhard: Fantastic.

Anne: And of course, the indoor temper-controlled ice-skating rink.

Gerhard: This is incredible, Anne.

Anne: I was hoping we’d have more signage up by the time of your visit, but here's a glimpse of what’s to come.

Gerhard: The signage does look great. Can't wait to see more.

Anne: And here we have rock climbing. I know it's a little small for the event especially with these large machines. But, I figure that might actually be a good thing considering...

Gerhard: I see, less of a crowd. You know, I actually think it works. And the view more than makes up for the size.

Anne: Great, I was planning to show you the cafe which we will transform for the gala, but due to construction, we cannot. But, I've got the perfect finale for this tour.

Anne: Last but not least, the Simlympic-sized pool. Spectator seats and press area for the games.

Gerhard: Wow, this is massive. This is making me even more excited for the games.

Anne: So, what do you think, Your Royal Highness?

Gerhard: I think we're ready for the Victory Games.

[dcarhcarts]

regarding recent absences

And other such updates!

If you want the tl;dr, here it is: my mental health isn’t in the greatest place right now, and I figured I ought to explain why I must ask you for continued patience for the snail speed on this blog. I’m not announcing official hiatus, but just know that I...might continue to be pretty scarce, but I’m trying my best to be here and to be writing here. To hopefully get me more active here, I plan on dropping a few threads and cleaning out my dash re: people who follow me but aren’t writing with me. You’re more than welcome to keep following me if I unfollow you, and if you want to write with me and just haven’t gotten the chance and would like me to re-follow you, pls just go ahead and shoot me an im. I will be making a separate post about both those things, it’s just that I can’t deal with how fast my dash is moving at the moment.

If you care for the long version, under the cut so as to not bother everyone else!!! Be warned that it’s uh...it’s l o n g. TW for depression and anxiety and the general things my brain does to me lolol. 

Wow I haven’t used the post title function in a l o n g time. Anyway, hi, it’s me, Ro, your friendly neighborhood mun of a 20+ muse mumu. Don’t let the kind-of-serious format scare you - nothing bad is happening. I just have a few things that I felt the need to address that have been happening either in my life or just in my screwed up brain :D Buckle in and get ready for the ride, I guess?

Starting with something y’all already know about - I’ve not been here a lot recently. I joke about that a lot, but really, if you catch the pattern, my activity here is: exclusively after 10 pm, 2 drafts at most a day, inbox straight up clogged from like a month ago. IMS basically desolate, because I haven’t worked up the courage to pick them back up since I last forgot about them in the endless stream of things I had to do about a month ago! (that being said, uh, if you want to talk to me your best bet is probably through discord. Ro#6782 - pls, mutuals only, and tell me who you are!)  

And - because I h a t e being that mun that reblogs memes and asks for for them and then never answers their askbox / puts out starter calls when she has 10000 drafts / puts out plotting calls when she has unanswered ims, (no problem at all when other people do this but somehow when it’s m e I’m like “no you’re a terrible person”???? hmmm), I’ve also been avoiding t h o s e. If you’re new and you followed me in the last month, I’ve been putting out n o t h i n g that indicates a willingness to interact with new/more people, while the opposite is true. I’m always willing to interact - if I follow back, I want to write with you, only, well, aforementioned issue aside, I also have m o r e problems.

Namely, IRL and the fucked up thing called my brain. 

As most of you know, I got a job ~end of may or early juuuune~ and....well it’s pretty damn time consuming. I can’t have my phone during the course of my job - by the way, 4 hours - and so in those 4 hours (from 4 pm to 8 pm) I can basically get nothing done here. Then there’s also the fact that the time my shift is placed mentally and physically drains me a lot. Because it starts at 4, most of my morning is spent thinking “god I don’t wanna go to work” and because it ends at 8, most of my evening is spent trying very hard not to doze off. It also drains me a lot socially - I work at a call center, and all day I’m basically calling people who don’t want me to call them and are very irate even when they pick up, and uh, that already doesn’t do well for my anxiety haha. 

The other thing, of course - is my sort-of-seasonal depression. Winter tends to equate to anxiety for me, and summer tends to equate to depression. Again, I think I’ve joked about this a lot, but I apparently can only do drafts when I have 3 finals tomorrow and I haven’t studied for any of them. When it’s break, I get into a really weird slump - when i wake up in the morning, I don’t really want to wake up, and sometimes just stare at the wall for like, an hour. Nothing that I enjoyed during the other months, I seem to enjoy doing now. There’s too much time and too little time. It’s like i spent the whole day doing absolutely nothing meaningful but I can’t break myself out of the cycle so I keep doing that, rinse and repeat day after day, and sometimes my definition of spending time is just lying down in bed again and doing nothing for an hour randomly in the middle of the day. I feel guilty for wasting time as much as I am clueless as to how to fill it in a fulfilling way. “But Ro, you could do drafts!” A Concerned Person May Say. “You like writing!” Well, Kind Person, on some of these days, absolutely n o t h i n g Sparks Joy. 

“But Ro, I follow you on your other blog too!” The Concerned Person might continue.“You’re kind of active there, aren’t you?” And the answer, Kind Person who supported my career even if that blog is mostly obscure af fandoms - is yes.  I am kind of active on my other blog, @storyblcd. This brings us to the third and final reason why I’m.....moving at snail’s speed here, and that, my good friend - is anxiety. Well, mixed with a certain amount of mental exhaustion, of course. Note: this is n o t anyone’s fault. People’s interactions with me have not been negative - and they are not responsible for how my brain chooses to reaact to it. 

I’ve not lost muse for the muses on this blog, per se - but I’m getting burned out really fast writing them, for multiple reasons. First, muse imbalance. Now I know, I definitely k n o w - that sometimes people like one muse more than another, or have more interest in writing with one or the other, and I get that. I’ve said multiple multiple times that that is p e r f e c t l y fine. But honestly the reason I’ve lasted so long on a multimuse is because I can pick which muse I have muse for when, and I can respond accordingly / ask for interactions accordingly. But when I get so many people coming at me at once for the o n e muse when I have t w e n t y it sometimes gets a little? Discouraging? It makes me question whether or not only that one muse is popular for a reason. It also exhausts me re: the portrayal of that muse, because I”m putting out so many replies for that muse in a lot of sort of similar plots/scenarios that I just get burnt right out. And then I get scared that if I keep going I’ll want to drop the muse, so I’m staying away from those threads a little bit.

Second, I’m at a point in my portrayal of certain muses where I feel like there’s a certain expectation for how it’s going to be. My personal feelings aside, I think every mun expects their own portrayal to be different and unique and exciting - and it’s not different for me, only now I feel like the expectation and the pressure of coming up with something good and meaningful outweighs the feeling of exploration as I’m “discovering” the muse. Like most writers - I still crave validation, though more and more lately, I’m at a place in my writing where I f e e l like me from 2 months ago could have probably done a better job. While it’s not necessarily true, and these pressures are coming from m e and not any outside source, I f e e l like I have to consistently Make Good Writing, and simultaneously feel like some days I sit down and I try to do drafts and all I write is garbage. It just - doesn’t feel the same? So - more and more, I’m staring at the empty drafts page and then closing it - because if I don’t w r i t e I don’t have to admit I peaked two months ago.  

Both of these reasons have made me rather a bit avoidant of my muses here / this blog. Now, I’ve been struggling with anxiety for long enough that I know that a lot of this is - well, p r o b a b l y just my brain lying to me. See even as I’m writing this post now, my anxiety is saying “haha guess what n o one cares you’ve been gone” and my rational Anxiety-is-a-stupid-asshole voice is saying “nahhhhhh your brain is probably just lying to you.” But! In the battle, anxiety is kind of pummeling me now. I will r i s e again and win the war, most likely - but for now it’s anxiety: 1 and ro: 0.

AND finally - if you made it all the way down here, you’re a c h a m p. The solution! Well, as much of a solution as I’m hoping to get anyway - we’ll have to see if it implements well. I’m going to unfollow a few blogs so I can get my dash cleaner/more organized/less fast-moving and b r e a t h e. I’m going to drop a couple of threads, I might make a couple more muses request only/exclusive only for the like 2 people that have threads with them, I might drop a couple muses (though I don’t think this will really happen, Idk tho). There will be separate posts on those things coming soon, this is just to notify y’all. Thank you for all of your patience, thank you for all the wonderful people who’ve allowed me to write with you, I love all of you!!!!

[tsukiprotranslations]

[Translation] SOARA Vol. 3 + Vol. 4 Special Drama Track 5

Here’s the last installment to the linked purchase tokuten~! I hope you all enjoyed and loved SOARA more after this www Also, please feel free to just slide into my asks/DMs to fangirl about your fave boy~!! No need to be shy!! We all need to fangirl about them ww

※ Please don’t re-post any of these translations without permission. Please just like/reblog them instead.

Thank you to the dear @ryuukia for the files~!  Again, if you’ve forgotten, please don’t ask her for the files as per her request, thank you!

Under the cut, enjoy~!

[雨の日のお楽しみ] “Fun during a rainy day”

[0:00]

  MORI: Fun during a rainy day.

NOZOMU: Ah, I remember this!

NOZOMU: It’s the day that the common room became so wonderful after we came back from the rain.

SORA: The sound of the rain kinda makes you sleepy, huh~?

REN: Morihito-senpai’s voice was so gentle that it makes you sleepy, too, wasn’t it?

REN: This is a story of a certain day about us and Morihito-senpai who gave in to temptation.

(door opens)

SORA: Mo~ri~!

REN: Senpai…?

MORI: Hm? What’s up, you two?

SORA: Y’know… It’s raining outside, right?

MORI: Yeah, it is.

SORA: Doesn’t the gentle pitter-patter of the rain outside make you a liiiiiiiitttlee sleepy?

MORI: (sighs) I guess I can kinda understand.

REN: Sora-senpai and I both are… (yawns) somehow so sleepy…

MORI: (smiles) You really do look sleepy.

SORA: Well, we were talking about how at times like these, I feel like I can fall asleep in one go if I hear Mori’s voice.

REN: So…

SORA/REN: We’re intruding~

(they settle themselves in Mori’s room)

SORA: Alright, Ren, you stay at this side.

REN: Yes.

SORA: Alright, sorry for the intrusion~

MORI: Eh?

REN: We’re so sorry, senpai. We’ll be intruding next to you.

SORA: Alrighty~

MORI: You even brought blankets… You look so ready to sleep, huh?

SORA: Alright… Now… All we need is Mori’s voice for this to be perfect…

SORA: Now then, Mori~

SORA/REN: We look forward to it~

MORI: (chuckles) You seem like you’re having fun.

MORI: An afternoon nap? You want me to read you a fairy tale?

SORA: Ah, that might be good.

MORI: It is?

REN: You can talk about whatever you want to. We just want to hear senpai’s voice.

MORI: Well, that’s so sudden… Is anything really good?

MORI: What should I talk about… Hm…

MORI: Will a fairy tale really be good enough?

MORI: Long, long ago, in a certain kingdom…

[02:16]

  MORI: And they lived happily ever after…

MORI: All’s well that ends well.

(Sora snoring)

MORI: I can’t believe it~ They really fell asleep.

MORI: (chuckles) That must feel so nice~

MORI: Is this what it feels like to have a younger brother, I wonder.

MORI: Good night, you two.

MORI: (yawns) Now, even I feel sleepy…

MORI: (sleeping soundly)

SOSHI: Mo~ri.

MORI: …

SOSHI: Mori~!

MORI: U-uh… Did I fall asleep?

SOSHI: Yeah, so soundly.

MORI: Really? Thank you—

SORA: (running) AH! I was planning on waking him up, too!

REN: Morihito-senpai, the stars are so beautiful!

NOZOMU: The weather cleared so the house has become livelier~! What a typhoon family we are~!

SOSHI: I’m getting the feeling you’re getting one kanji wrong there. What you mean is “the weather has cleared after the typhoon passed”. (1)

MORI: (chuckles) I wonder if tomorrow will be sunny~

  ==END==

Translator’s Notes:

(1) This was written in the original tweet, too, and in the anthology as well. Nozomu actually gets one kanji wrong XD  The correct kanji is this (for the saying)「台風一過/taifuuikka」(clear weather after the typhoon has passed) but Nozmu uses this one「台風一家/taifuuikka」(lit. Typhoon family). They’re both pronounced the same so it doesn’t make much sense unless it’s written lolol

Also, to those who don’t have the anthology, these are what the pages look like for this particular drama~! (Sorry for crappy phone quality pictures, my scanner’s not fit to scan books orz)

This page has lines that weren’t in the drama track so I’ll put the translation here ^^ SORA: “Mori’s sleeping face...! What a precious view!!” REN: “Let’s not wake him up right now...”

※ Please don’t re-post any of these translations (and the pictures!) without permission. Please just like/reblog them instead.

If you like this, please consider buying me a ko-fi here to support my work. (o^▽^o)Thank you!!

[defunctblogtobedeleted]

10/31/19 3:14pm - Lotssaaaa Fet Stuff

I realize now that I wrote concerts, in anticipation of getting to this weekend in the last post, and I only wrote about one concert. Dumb.

I went to my first BDSM play party on the first sat of the month. It was wild. I went in a suped up kitty outfit but found that I didn’t really enjoy my new plug as much as I’d hoped. Everyone loved it though, I met a bunch of people and got to try my first scene! My buddy gerald and Lyn topped me for some elector play and I spent a half hour getting shocked with various metal thingies. Man, it felt like thousands of scratchy tickles. I was laughing my ass off the entire time. It was amazing. It felt like a lot. But it felt exhilarating too. And I watched some intense flogging and some medical scening like needles going through tits and medical staples and electrically conductive wire being run through all of it and then electrified. It was mind blowing. I’m definitely about the scene now. It’s like enchanting to see how everyone reacts to everything in different ways. The screaming, the moaning, the shivering, the stomping. I really like to watch rope play as well, I’m meaning to start learning it myself again. Lyn said she’d practice with me, and another girl Elyse did too but we’ll get to her later. I’ve just gotta make sure I can DO it. Don’t wanna like embarrass myself lol. Though I think they’d both be pretty understanding. But still, that might be one of my next creative projects. So I guess I’ve gotten away from it but the party at the hangar was fun as fuck. Lyn came over afterward, we finally had sex and she’s the first person to successfully convince me to wear a condom since my vasectomy 😂 Sex was sex/10, nothing super special, but delightfully satisfying. Lyn’s on the heavier end of my acceptable BMI range for partners, but she’s not super heavyset or anything. Since then we haven’t been able to hang out, she had to do some surgery and has been stuck at home. But she got some electro play stuff so as soon as she’s feeling better we’re definitely gonna fool around with that :3 So high hopes that she’ll be harem member #2. fingers crossed  😘

Lyn stats -  Str - 10, Dex - 6 (currently lol), Con - 13, Int - 13, Wis - 13, Cha - 12 Hob - 16, Spo - 14, Mhp - 14, Sex - 19, Beu - 13, Sta - 10

To be clear maybe this sex stat is a little inflated, but gotta give credit where credit is due. Pretty legendary just watching her love sucking my cock for a half hour.

We were up until like 4 in the morning watching somethingorother. I downloaded the marvel movies I hadn’t seen but it wasn’t the right time to watch them. We watched some anime and cuddled up and passed out. I don’t know when she left but I’m pretty sure I slept in til like 3 or 4 I think lol.

The next day I went to durham early to see KKB play again! Hung out with Kailey and Cane and Pacos beforehand and drank a bit of champagne to pregame the concert. Honestly I was pretty fucking beat by the time the concert happened though. Like was falling asleep standing up during the show. Plus we were way in the back, the venue was way more crowded than when we saw KKB at the coffeehouse. Felt a little less romantic. But I did bump into my buddies john and travis there, that was weird. and my other friends ended up messaging me saying they were there too but didn’t bump into them. I was still happy I saw the show though, and it’s always great chilling with manu and christina and maya and pacos and oliver and rianne. I was actually supposed to switch shifts that day so I could go to another fet event on wednesday, but bailed so I could hang out with them. Despite being tired as balls I’d say it was worth.

OH MY GOD then I’m not sure if it was this monday or the previous one. But I met this thick Chris Pratt looking welsh guy at the local Fet mixer (slosh night). He kept complimenting me and said if I wanted to fool around I should let him know. Well the night rolled around and my friend had tried to introduce me to this girl who wanted to do pet play but I really didn’t hit things off with her, and was talking to this chris pratt guy about his life traveling the world and also anime. So I took him home to his hotel room, and we tried to arrange for a girl to come play with us too. Unfortunately she flaked so we sat there drinking some rum together and reminiscing on our lives and sharing stories. We decided to get some food and then start fooling around, but right then he got a call that his brother died and he’d have to change his travel plans for the week to make it to the funeral. Pretty tragic. We kissed goodbye and that was that. Guy made bannnkkkk though, I probably would’ve been a boy toy for that kinda cash lmfaoooo. It wasn’t like that. But it could have been. Who fucking knows, man.

That week my fet friend Ann came out to do karaoke with me, too. We don’t have a thing, yet. But we talk once in a while. I haven’t seen her in a minute but she’s into nerdy shit. Turns out there’s a Lot of overlap with nerdy and fet. Which is amazing for me. But Ann joined me and Terri and our friend Matt and Skyler and Jacob and Caitlin are usually there and a lot of times our buddy Jonas from emo karaoke comes too so I’ve got a great fucking posse starting to build up. Karaoke is sick. It’s like my home.

But the next weekend was a fetish fashion show, and my second play party.

For the fashion show Lyn and I had been talking about dressing up to compete, but she ended up having her surgery and couldn’t go. I still was ready to go with my kitty outfit that I had given a test run at the hangar a week before, so I was ready to rock it. Tbh I was kinda nervous. It would have helped if I found out I was the only one competing in my category, but I just wanted to make sure I looked beautiful and shit. Did the best job I’ve ever done putting on eyeliner, I’m getting a lot better lol. Actually got some compliments from the host on it. And a whole bunch of my first fet friends were there to see me!

Sidebar - I came out of the closet as bi on national coming out day on oct 11. Figured it wouldn’t matter too much, but I really wanted to. I’ve identified as bi for a long time, and I’ve been telling people in person for years, but idk I just really wanted to be public about it.

It hasn’t been a relief per se, but it definitely has made me the subtlest bit more comfortable with picturing myself in gay situations. Like there was this cute guy at the fashion show who got tied up in rope and the way the rope tied around his cock made it look huge and he was this cute blonde and I kinda imagined making out with him for a while. lolol.  I think honestly it was because of my situation the week or two before with welsh chris pratt, like I just wanted to be able to DO these things without people questioning like “is this who you are?” well yes, yes it is and has been for a bit so hrmph. Of course nobody was ever questioning if it was who I am because I always introduce myself as bi, but the imaginary people living in my head definitely question. 

The play party that night was divine though. It was newbie oriented, so you could only do things with people if you had someone experienced involved to help show you how to do things right. I bottomed an impact scene for the first time to see how it felt, my friend summer, one of the people I carpooled over with, slapped me around with a bunch of toys. I watched a lot of scenes, my buddy Gerald gave a tutorial on all the different impact toys and how to use them and what you should be looking into when you buy them. I did some wax play with summer and painted on one of the most gorgeous girls I’d ever seen with latex paint with her boyfriend and one of the hosts of the party. Gave her some cute leopard spots and she loved them :3 Me and my friends that I carpooled with skinny dipped in the “hot” tub. Ann later told me that she’s dubbed it the Tepid Tub. It’s not great. LOL but I was stubborn and sat out there for a while with everyone. Still always love to be naked in water, though I would’ve liked it more if it were a better temperature. And I met a bunch more people as always! I started talking to this girl Mariah there. She invited me to cuddle on her lap after my impact scene and I instantly jumped at the opportunity and ended up getting her number and we might hang out sometime. (LOL I’m not fucking kidding I’m really trying to get a polycule going, this is gonna be the hypest thing ever if I actually get rolling.)  I had a blast at that party though, and I’m really pumped to go back this weekend. Should be a hell of a good time. 

Sunday I went out and did a How To Kink Good roundtable discussion, primarily focusing on consent and some issues surrounding it.

I. LOVE. how much of the BDSM community revolves around consent. Everything you do has to be talked out before and after. What you want to have happen during the scene and after the scene. What kind of things you want to happen and what should not happen. It’s more than just safewords, you basically know Everything you’re going to do before you go in. Really cool stuff.

I think beforehand I played a magic tournament, and so then I think after the fet talk I had nothing to do and hung out with Jill or something as normal.

Also somewhere around here I’ve started playing some basketball. I’m actually finally working on not shooting like a moron. Won some games of 2v2 and horse with the gang when they’re trying to play. I’m actually being a little sporty on top of all this weirdness and I’m still trying to run at least twice a week. Sometimes 3. Though this week I was def lazy and only did 1. Ah well I’ll get back into the groove and shave off the last 15 pounds I want off eventually.

For now everyone is calling me beautiful and I feel beautiful and fun and I’m meeting people and it’s all so great. Everything is wonderful. I love everything I’m doing and it’s all so fascinating and weird and feels unique as fuck lol. Just when I thought I couldn’t get any weirder I definitely took another great big leap  😂

[whenstudyblooms]

Hello there! This is my first advice post on tumblr, so I hope this would go as a great start. Please feel free to give me constructive criticism and any comments of the like. I would gladly appreciate it~ ♡

To fit the season of summer, I have written a topic about being productive during the long break we usually have during the summer. I know, I know, finals are finally over and you just want to chill and treat yourself, and that’s totally fine! However, the more time you spend on relaxing, the more difficult it is to regain productivity by the time school starts. Spending an hour or so per day getting that flower on your head watered will keep it turgid and ready for the start of the upcoming school year!

Here is a list of ways to get that productivity going on:

✽get a long, good sleep: This is probably the most critical part of getting into a productive mood. Take advantage of the break by fixing your likely messed up sleep schedule (<4 hour sleep anyone? lol) Studies show that having a good amount of sleep can improve learning and can help your brain work properly, which serves as the foundation for your productive journey.

✽plan, plan, plan: This is a great way of starting your day (it rhymes :D). You can write it on your planner, bujo, a piece of paper, sticky note, whatever. Organizing the things you want to do will allow you to recognize your priorities and keep you in focus without forgetting that one summer assignment essay that’s due during the break (ap gov essay rip me).

✽create a (unique) exercise routine: (kinda being hypocritical lolol but whatever) It’s probably obvious to everyone that exercising gives you a lot of health benefits, both physically and mentally. Aside from going out for a jog, consider implementing unique exercises at home by doing some stretches while completing household chores!

✽get ahead of current subjects: If you already know the classes you’re going to take for the next school year, consider this. This will give you a good head start with the class and will make the course easier to understand.

✽hit the books: Like, I mean, literally (well not really, don’t throw dem fists). There are so many benefits of reading such as memory improvement, vocabulary expansion, and reducing stress. Set goals as you read to keep up with it. Visit your local library, purchase a book, or even just read an e-book; all can do the job.

✽learn something new: This can range from an academic subject to a hobby. Learn something that intrigues or inspires you. Setting goals will keep you motivated to study. What’s also great is that you can enjoy learning at your own pace.

✽study for the (P)SAT/ACT: I’m looking at you, juniors and incoming sophomores. This is a pretty significant entity in the college apps, especially if you aspire to go to a prestigious college. Preparing now can not only save you time and energy during the school year, but also money. I recommend reading SAT/ACT prep books, watching practice videos (i.g. Khan Academy), and taking many practice tests.

✽build community service hours: The number of community service hours required can vary in different states, but if it’s not, it still looks great on resumes. Put some good use to your free hours by not only working on your grad requirements or resumes, but also helping out the community! Some ideas could be volunteering at your local library, shelter, or any non-profit organization.

That is all the tips I could think of at this moment. If you have any more advice you would like to share, feel free to add on to this post and we could help each other out~ ^^ Have a nice day!

[checheisacat-blog]

Japan Trip June 2016 Day 1: Flight from LAS to NRT, exploring Ikebukuro, Nomihodai at Kin no Kura

Hi everyone!  This is the first in the series of posts about my trip to Japan from 06/07/16-06/23/16.  I'll be blogging about one day of the trip per post (or whatever fits within tumblr's limits lol) and probably go into a lot of meaningless details since I'm writing whatever I can remember lol.

ANYWAY.

I traveled last year in mid-June with my boyfriend Earl, my friend Mika, and her boyfriend Ralph.  I'll probably refer to them from here on as "bf" and "my friend and her bf" since idk I don't like using people's names when I'm not talking directly to them LOL.  It was me and my bf's first time to Japan, but my friend had been there multiple times in the past so we let her have the reigns when it came to booking flights, hotels, shuttles, etc. and planning what we were going to do each day.  I was really glad to have her help since I was pretty clueless lol.  The only time I'd been out of the country before this was to stop in Mexico during a cruise for a few hours, and I'd never traveled longer than 5 days before (which was with family) so I was pretty nervous about the whole thing.  I didn't do /as much/ research beforehand as I probably should've so I relied on my friend's expertise a lot lol.  My bf is pretty laid-back when it comes to traveling and usually lets me make all the plans/decide what to do so he was fine with whatever lol.

So our departing flight was scheduled to leave 7:35 AM from Mccarran airport in Las Vegas.  We were scheduled for a 3 hour layover in Vancouver, from which we would leave at 1:40 PM and land in Tokyo at 3:45 PM there.  I woke up around 3 AM on the day we were supposed to leave lol although my bf didn't sleep at all, he opted to stay up playing video games instead of only sleeping a few hours, and also so that we wouldn't accidentally oversleep and miss our flight lol.  We took a cab from my house to the airport at about 4 AM and arrived there about 3 hours ahead of when our flight was supposed to leave.

But of course we were delayed at baggage check-in since apparently Air Canada's system was down or something?  Sooo the trip was already off to a good start LOL.  We ended up sitting at baggage for close to 2 hours until they got their system back up.  The whole time I was really worried we would miss our flight and we were all pretty irritable and tired and just wanted to get on the flight already.  Thankfully they delayed the flight so everyone could check-in their baggage, get through security, and get to their gate.  After some trouble we finally got on our flight!

The flight from Vegas to Vancouver was pretty uncomfortable lol.  It was a 3 hour flight but the seats were small and you couldn't really sleep on them comfortably.  Also the water tasted super disgusting.  They didn't provide anything in the way of entertainment.  So basically a standard short flight lol

When we landed in Vancouver, we got some food that tasted pretty mediocre and looked around a bit.  The Vancouver airport has an aquarium, but I didn't get to see it or take a picture lol.  I thought about getting some souvenirs like idk maple syrup, but decided against it since I thought I could buy whatever I wanted on the layover on the flight back (which turned out to be a mistake but whatever lol).  The flight leaving out of Vancouver was delayed a bit too, but we eventually got on our plane to Tokyo!

This flight was a lot more comfortable.  I'd never been on an overnight flight before but they provided (small) pillows, blankets, and screens with entertainment and also served two in-flight meals.  I napped a bit but mostly entertained myself with the games and talking to my friend since both of our bfs were sleeping lol.  

The meal was surprisingly edible.  They give you a choice of meat or a vegetarian option.  It comes with a "main course", a salad, dessert, piece of bread, water bottle, and optional beverage.  I asked for both apple and orange juice since that's the kind of person I am lol.  The beef option I got was basically gyudon, and it was actually decent!  Really small portions though lolol.

A few hours before we were supposed to land, they served "breakfast".  I chose the chicken option this time which was basically bland chicken over rice with some seaweed over it.  The vegetables and onions on the side were okay though.

After what seemed like an excruciatingly long flight we finally landed in Tokyo!  I was surprisingly not feeling as dead as I expected lol.  We saw some cool things at the airport but I didn't wanna stop to taking very many pictures since we still had to get through immigration/customs which I was nervous about lol it went off without a hitch though!

I also saw my first Japanese vending machine!  I was super excited over these like a stupid tourist LOL I basically ended up taking a pic of every vending machine I saw.  At the end of this series of posts I might just make a post dedicated to all these vending machines.

My friend booked us our shuttle from the airport to our hotel with Airport Limousine.  Well, not actually to our hotel lol.  We were staying at a hotel called Hotel MyStays but they didn't have a shuttle there so we took the shuttle to the Sunshine City Prince Hotel a few blocks down from where our hotel was.

I got my first vending machine drink while we were waiting for the shuttle at the airport!  It was a magical experience.

We saw lots of cool things on the ride over!  Most of my pics are blurry though lol since the shuttle was traveling pretty fast and I was using my phone camera.  It took about 2 hours I believe?  We left a little after 5 so by the time we arrived the sun was already going down.

Caught a glimpse of Tokyo Disney!

Dragging our luggage through the street was an... interesting experience.  It totally sucked lol especially since we had no idea where our hotel was from where we were dropped off.  My friend ended up going off to find it while we waited with our luggage in the middle of the street lol.  It ended up being not far at all but it felt really far due to having to drag all our luggage.

We eventually got to the hotel though!  You have to go up through an elevator to even get to the lobby lol I wish I took a pic of this part but I was too busy handling my luggage.  My friend checked us all in!  Since the rooms are small it's two people to a room, so we got two separate rooms.  

Here's the room my bf and I stayed in!  We were prepared for it to be small but it still kinda took us by surprise since we were trying to figure out where to put our luggage and the eventual mountain of souvenirs we would accumulate LOL.  It was actually a really nice room though!  They had a lot of amenities like a stovetop, microwave, coffee maker, iron, and TV.  It took us a while to figure out the Japanese air conditioning lol which was desperately needed since it was summer and really humid, especially compared to where we live... in the desert.

The bathroom was really tiny lol.  I think I hit my knee in the shower literally every day for the first week we were there LOL and I'm not even bigger than the average Japanese person, I'm just not used to tiny showers.  It must've been a lot worse for my bf since he's a lot bigger lol.  The toilet was nice though and came with all the amenities that Japanese toilets usually do, like buttons to control the heat, flushing, etc.

After we all settled in and showered (I felt really gross lol) we headed out of our hotel to explore Ikebukuro a bit before calling it a night!  It was nighttime by this point but we were meeting Mika's friend Mary who was living in China at the time but came over to Tokyo for a few days to hang out.  It took her a while to meet us though so we wandered around Ikebukuro to gawk at stuff like tourists lol.  

There was actually a King of Prism Cafe and I took of picture of it even though I didn’t watch KoP until like 9 months later LOL it’s seriously awful

We saw some arcade machines which quickly became my bf's favorite thing!

We ended up walking all the way to Ikebukuro Station lol which is pretty far from our hotel actually.  

After we met up with Mary we all went to eat at a restaurant called Kin no Kura, which is an Izakaya!  We did Nomihodai/all you can drink although I don't really drink lol although it included non-alcoholic beverages as well.  My bf and I weren't really hungry lol we were more tired.  I was feeling pretty cranky from being awake for so long and my bf was practically falling asleep at the table.  We powered through it though and ate a bit just to have something in our stomachs.

I look so awful and angry LOL.  Too bad this is the only pic of us there, I didn't really feel like taking pictures haha can you tell I don't deal with tiredness very well?  I want to go back to this place to experience Nomihodai without being super cranky and tired LOL the drinks were actually pretty good.

Anyway after a long ass day we finally went back to sleep.  I was afraid I wouldn't be able to sleep but I ended up falling asleep pretty quick.  I woke up in the middle of the night a few times and ended up waking up early, which I expected due to jet lag.

So that's the end of Day 1!  Sorry this post isn't very interesting lol the day wasn't that eventful since it was mostly consumed by traveling.  I'm glad we got to our hotel mostly without a hitch though and I was super ready to conquer Tokyo the next day!

btw I took LOTS of pictures during this trip (over 3000 lol) but I'm gonna try to narrow down the pics I put in these post, mostly because it's tedious as hell to add pictures into tumblr posts LOL.  I'll do my best to show pictures of all the important stuff though!

Here's a general rundown/outline of my trip and how the posts will go!

Japan Trip June 2016

[pyrinox]

Project SHY [iii]: habits, traditions, and processes; the importance of the invisible structures

6/4/17, 6:37 PM

Drawing from past experience

I can’t really believe it myself, but I was once an AFX Executive Director and AFX Training Team Director, while being a full time student, doing 8+ hours of work study per week, auditing my bro’s VR Immersive Film Group, and participating in another AFX Training Team (all at the same time). I’ll be honest; I got rekt (more so than usual lolol) that semester of Spring ‘17. HOWEVER, there were quite a bit of things I learned about myself pushed to the brink, and as well as people in general, that I feel like will be an invaluable asset for me down the line. I can’t really name them out here, but I plan to start another Project focused on that topic after I hit Part Ten for Project SHY.

Being in charge of an organization with about 600 general members, 13 teams, and a Committee size of 60 people was a challenge. Factor in that I had to keep track of about 73 people for AFX Apocalypse (the team I was leading alongside my cos P.S. and C.S.), and it was pretty much double trouble. Although I got through (more like survived LOL) everything, it was definitely an imperfect process, and a struggle bus.

If there’s one thing I did learn though, it was that one of the things most crucial to an organization’s success (and by projection, an individual’s success) is completely invisible. Leadership, vision, responsibilities, positions of power; I’m talking about social engineering. The ways roles are set up, tasks and responsibilities are delegated, friendships and working relationships are made, will determine how successful a particular iteration of an org will be, or on the individual level, how ready someone is to tackle personal life problems.

This is one of the major struggles that AFX is facing today. There’s so much to the organization that it takes someone incredibly driven, with a mind keen for logistics, to keep track of it all. Every semester, new leadership steps up to take on the challenge that is AFX, and every semester we have to start near ground zero. Transitioning is rough, and a lot falls through the holes.

AFX is, in my opinion, at a crossroads (#triggered). We’ve reached the point in which we’re the size of a medium-sized company, but we’re run like a newly born student organization (I guess we still kinda are). We use professional services for communication, have quality assurance checks, and have board meetings. By the same token, we make basic mistakes. We forget to post workshop videos, forget to update our calendars, and fail to document and learn from our history.

The structure of our organization is outdated. The system is imperfect. For example, we change leadership every semester when other orgs change leadership every year. The Constitution is outdated, and Exec Board elections are played by ear. There are no objective tie-breakers; there are only subjective Executive decisions. We have a large resource of technical people to pull from, but shun them from automating our labor-intensive processes. We have the financial resources to finance and invest in big projects, but don’t have the vision, or the expertise, to execute. But enough of this. It’s a topic for another day. Taken in summation, one must try and construct a sound organizational structure from the base, else things get shaky as we build upwards. The document explaining the blue print of this structure must be as perfect as possible, given the present circumstances. This is one of the reason’s why I’m so meticulously drafting up a document that will contain the blueprints of EXP (I will explain more about EXP in a future project).

What can be applied to an organization can be applied to the individual

Accidentally went on a tangent with AFX. What I’m trying to say is, what I learned about constructing social mechanisms for a large population, can also be applied for constructing behavioral mechanisms for the individual. Thus begins my rigorous pursuit to find that document, that Constitution, that governs me invisibly. My goal is to materialize this document as genuinely as possible, and then to edit the imperfections until I am left with something that is sturdy and reliable. I wish to have a structure that I can be proud of.

If I want meet my goal of writing everyday, I need to make it a habit. In order to make the habit sustainable, I must draft a schedule and follow it through thick and thin.

The first step is drafting a schedule: Workdays: M T W Th F

~7:00 - 8 AM:

Wake up, shower, and prepare

BREAKFAST (7:30 -7:50 AM)

~8 AM to pre-lunch:

Go to class

Go to Esh to mix up dance into routine.

LUNCH (~12-1 PM)

~post-lunch to pre-dinner:

Introduce social aspect

Coffee break, STUDY with a couple friends. Not too many.

Active learning: classes or Projects.

DINNER (~7-8 PM)

~post-dinner to 11 PM:

Socializing

Passive learning: watching a movie, hang out with friends

~11 - 1 AM:

Solo time

Do a Project (read/write/etc.)

Weekends: Generally follow the same schedule as weekdays, except can plan for bigger social events in lieu of Active Learning time.

Pulling Back

It’s currently 3:39 PM... I got home at around 1:20 AM, and should have gone to sleep right away if I wanted to follow the schedule. A couple things to learn from:

What to do when you’re hungry late at night

Avoid watching a bunch of youtube distractor videos (dance, league, tennis, etc.)

I’m feeling tired. Things to do for tomorrow to get the rough draft schedule up and running:

Set alarm for 7 AM and GET OUT OF BED

Input rough draft schedule into my Google Calendar

Always learnin’, Pyr