#this better be the first thing our new lettuce PM fixes

[komaedian]

Tesco has raised its meal deal prices above £3, the economy has officially collapsed

[ikehorganics]

HOW TO REDUCE BINGE

EATING OVEREATING,

AND BORED EATING:

disclaimer: i am aware that binge eating is an eating disorder, but not a lot of people have access to professionals to help them, and this guide could help a number of people struggling with binge eating, it could be successful to some binge eaters but not all. i hope this assists you, and this all comes from a place of good faith not malicious intent. i am also aware that binge eating does NOT equate to bored eating or overeating.

skip the preface if you want to skip straight to the tips!

PREFACE:

I have been in quarantine for nearly nine months, and I have struggled with multiple aspects of my everyday life that have had to be changed and adapted to the new rules of society. Since the beginning, I have always preached about staying in doors, social distancing, not going out to into open places without a mask etc because this is a direct reflection of the respect you have for yourself and the people around you. In this strong belief, I found myself struggling to juggle being a first year university student, my fitness, mental health, food and constantly being bored within my house.

Food was the hardest aspect, and with being surrounded by food 24/7, weight gain was inevitable. At first, I had not realised how I ate on a regular basis, I woke up at 6am, and would be at uni between 8am and 5pm from monday to thursday, where i would usually only eat one meal and a snack between that, whether it be left overs from dinner for lunch and an apple or piece of fruit for when i feel a bit peckish, and 2litres of water. My day consisted of four lectures ranging from 1 hour to two hours and walking around a lot because I hated sitting for a long time, and occasionally doing summaries or watching netflix between lectures. And when i got home, I had dinner and would go to bed. That was my routine and it was never truly surrounded by food constantly available at my every beck and call.

During quarantine, I was filled with procrastination and demotivation to attend lectures online or read my books. And all that extra time was filled with having an efficient workout routine and eating, but then that eating turned to eating quite frequently whether i was watching television, and mainly eating for the sakes of eating and in gross portion sizes because it was now available. Let's talk about how I broke out of that cycle of over eating and bored eating:

1. PLAN YOUR DAY PRODUCTIVELY.

I needed some direction in my life, I forced myself to plan every hour of my day so I can do something productive for myself. I planned the times from when I would wake up at 8am, to the time it took to fix my bed, brush my teeth, workout, stretch, eat my meals, nap, spend time outside, spend time on social media and more. Not only did my eating habits straighten out, but I got more done with my day.

2. SET EATING TIMES.

Setting eating times was the best thing I had ever done. Breakfast was always at 12 midday, lunch at 2 pm and dinner at 6pm, but these were my eating times, especially since i was intermittent fasting. These times helped me plan my day accordingly, between eating times I would usually fill my day with studying, and doing summaries, catching up with work I had missed. This helps especially if you have a restrictive diet or fast a lot! Restricting calories and fasting for extended periods of time only adds to the urge of falling into a binge cycle because your body feels the needs to refeed!

3. LISTEN TO YOUR CRAVINGS.

Listening to your body is so important. If you want to eat pizza for lunch, don't eat a salad, eat the pizza because it will be mor satiating than that salad or pasta that you might not want as much. Because that pizza might just pop into your mind late at night and you will have a little late night feast, this applies especially if you are counting calories. Having cravings are normal, and unless you are on a no bs diet that is extreme, you shouldn't deny yourself of something that you really want for something that won't leave your soul satiated.

4. DRINK WATER DURING MEALS.

I won't say much on this, but having water before, during and after your meal is so important. It aids in better digestion and adds to the feeling of being satiated when you are done eating, plus it's an easy way to get your water in. Replace that coca cola or soft drink with water, especially if you know you don't get enough glasses of water into your day.

5. LEMON WATER.

A cup of warm water and a wedge of lemon juice squeezed into it is super refreshing, sip on it throughout the morning before breakfast, to aid in digestion. Lemon water is a thing that is constantly brought up, and shut down for being "ineffective" but it works for me, and I believe that it is a phenomena of the mind. If you believe lemon water can help, it will definitely help you because you have manifested its impact on your health. Lemon water and warm water is one of those things that 'curb' hunger, and if you are one of those people who sometime wake up hungry but can't bring yourself to eat so early because it could make you nauseous, then water lemon water in a glass is the drink for you.

6. EAT WHOLESOME AND NOURISHING FOODS.

Calories are a touchy subject, and they add up very quickly very surprisingly. A bowl of oatmeal will have a lot of volume, leave you satiated and keep you full longer than toast and nutella. No one is saying do not eat the nutella, but adapt it into a meal that will leave you full and satisfied for example, if you want something sweet, heave oatmeal with a tablespoon of peanut butter or nutella inside of your oatmeal! Eat foods that will nourish you and give you enough energy to go about your day.

7. PORTION CONTROL AND PHYSICAL FULLNESS.

Portion sizes are all up to you as an individual and how satiated a portion size leaves you. Eat portion sizes that leave you satiated, but remember that being satiated does not equal to being so physically full that you feel uncomfortable as a result of eating too much. Being satiated is very difficult because sometimes you eat food that tastes amazing, and even though you are physically full, you feel like you could eat more and that becomes problematic because you've eaten past your bodies physical limit. Eating what you are craving ( number 3 ) comes into play with this aspect, as you have to be able to know when enough is enough. If you feel as if your portion sizes are huge and want to reduce them, then reduce it gradually whether it means you want to go from eating 4 slices of pizza to 2 slices of pizza, then begin with eating 3 and a half slices or eating one less scoop of pasta than you usually eat. If you have no idea how to stop eating past your physical limit, eat until you feel like you're just about to be physically full, do this for a week, and see how you will become satiated with the portions you are eating, gradually lessen the portion sizes overtime until you are happy with the amounts you are eating! This won't happen immediately, it is a gradual process.

8. DON'T EAT TOO FAST. CHEW YOUR FOOD.

A lot of the time, we do not realise how fast we eat and how we don't thoroughly chew our food. The food isn't running away, take your time to enjoy your meal and chew it instead of swallowing after a few times of grinding your teeth. Take in the flavour of your food and really enjoy it in the moment.

9. IT IS OKAY TO FALL INTO OLD HABITS, BUT BREAK IT AS SOON AS YOU CAN.

Nothing in life happens in a linear manner, everything is gradual and has its ups, its downs, its regressions and just general moments we are not proud of. If you find yourself in a binge cycle or overeating cycle for a day or a week, it does not meal all progress is lost. It means you are human, you are not engineered to be perfect constantly. Have a mantra for yourself that you repeat to comfort yourself: “it is okay, tomorrow will be better.” or “it was just one day, i can go back to normally eating tomorrow.” or “I shouldn’t be too hard on myself, it happens to everyone.”

10. INCORPORATE HEALTHY FOOD GROUPS INTO YOUR MEALS.

Make your meals satisfying and as colourful as possible! Don’t just eat pasta or pizza, eat it with something healthy like a side salad or a side of fruits or a side of healthy carbs like roasted potatoes! Never just eat one thing especially if it doesn’t have any greens or vegetables!! It doesn’t have to even be a salad or anything fancy! It can be cut up tomatoes, or cucumbers or apples!

11. HEALTHIER ALTERNATIVES MEAN YOU CAN EAT MORE FOR LESS.

Your oven, grill or airfryer is your bestfriend. Fried food is delicious, but you feel insecure at times after eating something that was cooked in heaping amounts of oil. Remember an airfryer is just a small oven, and can do wonders too. If you want a burger and you have time, home made burgers are always amazing and tastier than their fast food counterparts! Make your burger at home so you can control what goes into it, or make your fries in the oven so you can have a much more healthy alternative for less calories, and have more of it! I’m not saying make your burger buns something like lettuce buns, but making your burger at home can significantly reduce the calories in comparison to ONE mcdonalds burger, and you can have two for less calories than once burger if you make it at home.

I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it! Hopefully these tips can assist you day to day, and you take them into consideration and even test it out! These tips worked for me, and I know they won’t work for everyone but some of them might be helpful to you!

[searchingwardrobes]

The Convenient Groom: 6/13

I just want to apologize for how long it took to get such a short chapter out. You know that saying, “when it rains, it pours”? Well, that’s been me lately. On top of a procedure last week at the gynecologist (which was as fun as you would imagine), an elderly dog that is keeping us up at night like a newborn baby, and my kids taking turns falling off their bikes and requiring an obscene amount of band aids, yesterday we also lost our internet connection. So I was originally going to post this yesterday, but finally, here it is. (And it’s only 8 pm here, and I’m struggling to stay awake to do it.) It’s only a little over 1k, and frankly, not much happens, but our OTP has cute banter and are forced to display PDA, so there’s that . . . I feel like I’m not making any sense, so I’ll just post this already . . .

Summary: Killian Jones just happens to be there when Emma Swan gets the phone call that changes everything: her fiance is leaving her at the altar. The thing is, it could also mean the end of her career. Convenient that Killian has nothing better to do that day. Convenient that he’s secretly in love with her. Not that Emma has to know that. Written for @spartanguard​​ .

Rating: M

Also on Ao3

Tagging: @snowbellewells​ @whimsicallyenchantedrose​ @kmomof4​ @let-it-raines​ @teamhook​ @bethacaciakay​ @xhookswenchx​ @tiganasummertree​ @shireness-says​ @stahlop​ @scientificapricot​ @welllpthisishappening​ @resident-of-storybrooke​ @thislassishooked​ @ilovemesomekillianjones​ @kday426​ @ekr032-blog-blog​ @lfh1226-linda​ @ultraluckycatnd​ @nikkiemms​ @distant-rose @optomisticgirl​ @profdanglaisstuff​ @carpedzem​ @ohmakemeahercules​ @branlovestowrite​​ @superchocovian​​ @sherlockianwhovian​​ @vvbooklady1256​​ @hollyethecurious​​ @winterbaby89​​ @delirious-latenight-laughs​​ @jennjenn615​​ @snidgetsafan​

Emma didn’t know why she was staring at him as he took a bite of the sandwich she’d made. It was just turkey meat from the deli with a slice of cheese and a piece of lettuce between two slices of bread slathered with mustard. Kind of hard to go wrong there. Except . . . well, people usually had a specific sandwich order, right? Like everyone took coffee a certain way or had a way they liked their eggs. Or at least, that was Richard Grere’s theory in Runaway Bride.

She had to stop with these rom-com cliches.

“I didn’t know how you like your sandwich,” she finally admitted, popping a chip in her mouth.

Killian swallowed and then wiped at the corner of his mouth with a napkin.

“We had those sandwiches on the hon - er, the trip.”

Would either of them ever be able to refer to “the trip” as their honeymoon?

Emma shrugged. “Yeah, but they were just generic and then all the condiments and stuff were on the side.”

Killian nodded and leaned back in his chair, regarding her with that infuriating grin of his. “I like it just this way.”

Emma narrowed her eyes at him. “You’re lying.”

He leaned forward. “Fair. Okay, you got it all right except I would have added pickles.”

Emma leaned forward as well, mimicking his serious expression. “What kind? Dill? Sweet? Gherkin?”

“Does it matter?”

Emma gasped and reared back. “Does it matter? Killian Jones, I don’t think we can be married if you think the kind of pickle doesn’t matter.”

He chuckled as he picked his sandwich back up. “Bread and butter.”

Emma nodded as she picked up hers.

“You, Swan?”

“Dill. There is no other kind of pickle.”

Killian arched a brow. “Agree to disagree?”

She gave him a dramatic nod as she “clinked” her sandwich with his. “As long as we keep both stocked in the pantry.”

“Done.”

They ate in silence for a few more minutes, until Emma noticed that Killian was fidgeting. He kept glancing from his phone, which sat on the patio table, then at her, then back again. He also began drumming his finger on the table while practically glaring at his phone.

“If you stare at that any harder, you’re going to burn a hole in it.”

“Hm?” he asked, gaze snapping back to her.

She gestured with her chin as she chewed and swallowed a bite of her sandwich. “Your phone. You keep staring at it.”

“Oh,” he chuckled nervously, picking up the object in question and clenching his jaw as he pressed his thumb to the screen, “it’s this text I got earlier. Elsa made a huge pot of that chowder last night, and she’s rather adamant that we join them for dinner tonight.”

Emma’s eyebrows rose. “Rather adamant?”

“Aye,” Killian answered apologetically as he palmed at the back of his neck.

Emma set her sandwich down and propped her elbows on the table. “You think we should go.”

He shrugged. “Well, we can’t avoid it forever, and the longer we wait, the more suspicious it will seem.”

“Hmm,” she mused, propping her chin in one hand, “or, they might assume that - like most newlyweds - we’re over here fucking our brains out all day long.”

Killian blinked rapidly, his face growing red. She found his discomfort at times incredibly amusing, especially considering the shameless way he had always flirted with her in the past. He stuttered for a moment, cleared his throat a few times, then found his voice.

“Well they’re my family, you see, and I know they won’t be put off for long. Liam’s already suspicious, I can tell, and then there’s the chowder -”

“Your sister-in-law is really hung up on this chowder, isn’t she?”

He spread his hands in front of him innocently. “What can I say? She’s won the blue ribbon three years running at the Storybrooke Crab Festival.”

Emma snorted out a laugh that died when she realized Killian wasn’t laughing. “Wait - are you serious?”

“About the blue ribbon part or the crab festival part?”

She shook her head. “I know about the crab festival, I remember it from last year. I just didn’t know there was a chowder competition.”

“We Mainers are very serious about our clam chowder, love.”

She barked out another laugh as he waggled his eyebrows at her, then she sighed. “Sure, dinner is fine. I mean, I do love clam chowder.”

************************************************

Emma wasn’t sure what she’d been expecting when she agreed to dinner with Killian’s family, but this casual setting sure wasn’t it. Liam had lit the fire pit in their backyard which, like Killian’s, felt more like an extension of the beach. Everyone served themselves, then carried their bowls of chowder down the steps of the back deck. Cans of beer and softdrinks were crammed into coolers filled with ice, and a patio table nearby was spread with the fixings for s’mores later. It was more of a casual, beachside get together than a family dinner, and it made Emma feel much more at ease. Elsa and Anna were at her side from the beginning. Anna peppered her with questions, but Elsa was more quiet. Yet something about Elsa’s gentle smiles made Emma feel welcome.

“So,” Anna said as a grunt passed her lips. She wavered halfway down into a beach chair and began frantically waving for her husband. He rushed over and helped her heavily pregnant form down onto the seat. “As I was saying,” she chuckled, brushing strands of red hair out of her face, “how did you two manage this without any of us finding out?”

“Yes,” Liam quickly put in from across the fire pit, “I’ve been wondering the same.”

Emma caught Killian’s eye, and he quickly answered his brother for both of them. “Well, until a few months ago, as you all know, Emma lived in New York City. After months of chatting online, she agreed for me to meet her there.” He crossed the lawn to come stand at her side and put an arm around her. “The rest, as they say, is history.”

“That still doesn’t explain why you never once mentioned her,” Liam commented before taking a sip of the beer in his hand.

“Emma’s in the public eye, Liam,” Killian quickly explained before Emma could even open her mouth. “We didn’t think it would be a good idea. There would be way too much scrutiny on us.”

“We would never scrutinize you!” Kristoff insisted.

“Exactly,” Liam agreed.

“Yeah right,” Killian muttered into the mouth of his beer bottle before taking a swig. Only Emma heard him, and she pressed her face into his shoulder to muffle her laughter.

“And we would have kept it quiet,” Liam added.

Emma felt like she couldn’t put all this on Killian, so she jumped in. “Well we took it slow at first. We didn’t even want any of you to know, just in case nothing came of it. But then -”

“It was kind of exciting sneaking around,” Killian finished for her cheekily. He then surprised her by claiming her lips. It was a quick kiss, but far from chaste. She could taste the beer on his tongue as he swiped it quickly against hers. When he pulled away, she had to blink to get her bearings.

“You two are adorable!” Anna sighed.

“I don’t remember you driving to New York any more than usual in the past couple of years.” Liam had set down his beer and was crossing his arms as he narrowed his eyes at them.

“Oh Liam, stop,” Elsa admonished, smacking her husband in the arm, “they aren’t on trial here.”

“I’m just trying to understand how my brother fell in love, got engaged, then had a huge spectacle of a wedding without including any of us.”

“About that,” Emma said, clearing her throat, “we were wondering if 4th of July would work for the family ceremony. Killian said you all have a huge party that day anyway.”

“That sounds fantastic!” Anna cheered. “How can we help?”

Emma shrugged. “Honestly, I am so tapped out with planning one wedding, you can have free reign on this one.”

“Did you hear that, Elsa?” Anna asked, twisting in her chair to look at her sister.

Elsa laughed. “Emma, you may regret telling my sister that.”

“You never answered my question, you know,” Liam said stubbornly. “I don’t remember that many trips to the city.”

“Bloody hell, Liam!” Killian cried out. “I took the boat, if you must know. Elsa’s right, you’re acting like we’re on trial.”

“You like boating, Emma?” Liam asked.

“Uh, yeah, Killian got me hooked on it.” Emma’s head pounded as the lie slipped off her tongue. She hoped Liam didn’t start quizzing her on nautical terms or something. In actuality, the only boat she’d ever been on was one of those you paddled with your feet at that carnival Sarah took her to when she was fourteen. She’d never even taken the ferry in New York.

“Then we need to all go out on the Jewel sometime!”

Emma looked quizzically at Killian. “The Jewel?” “Aye love, that’s Liam’s boat. It’s a bit bigger than The Jolly Roger.” He leaned over as if to brush a kiss to her cheek, but instead turned his head to whisper in her ear. “The Jolly is mine.”

“Oh,” she said with a nod, “that sounds . . . fun.”

With bright eyes, Liam raised his beer bottle in salute. “It’s a date then!”

Emma faked a smile before taking a huge gulp of her beer. How many lies were going to pile up before this marriage blew up in their faces?

[opepin]

february: week 3

13: it was a pretty busy work from home day. we made egg mcmuffins for breakfast, went to work for a bit, and then kevin cooked the bulgogi and i made the rice cake soup when he had to get on a call. i worked until past 5 pm and then i rushed to get ready for the museum of science chocolate night. kevin and i argued a bit on our way out and our way there. :/ it was because expectations and assumptions weren’t made clear, but even if we’re mad, holding hands makes everything better, ahah. we walked to the museum -- bad idea because of the wind T_T we made it in one piece though! there was so much chocolate. there were chocolate fondue fountains, little bites, cheese and cracker and veggie plates, and there were a lot of activities too. kevin and i didn’t get anything from the bar haha. we participated in a scavenger hunt which led us to exploring the museum more and we participated in a create-a-claw competition. our machine got the most hearts and we got added to the board. our claw machine was called the “winnie the pooh” claw :3 lol kevin irked me at some points because he was too into making it and he also left me at a chocolate wall picture area for food so when it was my turn, i was alone :( we did take a picture there though.

my favorite exhibit is the playground one. i loved running and swinging and etc. i got super dizzy from the spinning machine though. we got some goodie bags from the innovator’s table after handing in our scavenger hunt and then we ate our last chocolate covered strawberries before heading out. i got a penny/coin thing for boston now! we decided to walk off our sugar and took the red line back home. kevin got me a valentine’s day gift and couldn’t wait until tomorrow to give it to me. apparently, it was left in the package center for a few days because he couldn’t sneak it up due to our wfh days ahaha. my bear got me cozy bear socks! <3333 i mentioned it maybe a few weeks ago and i guessed he just got it for me so my feet wouldn’t be so cold all the time <33333 i have the best boyfriend (: i also picked up my victoria’s secret package and idk how to feel about their seamless underwear. anyway, i worked when i got back and kevin did the dishes and gamed. i skipped my workout today because i had to get work stuff done. we also did a good amount of walking so i didn’t feel as bad. then i showered and slept at like 1 or 2 am after talking to kevin for a bit before falling asleep. :P

14: waking up wasn’t terrible! i rushed a bit to make myself an egg mcmuffin but i made it to my regular train on time. the office was pretty full today, which made me happy. yay, i’m back in the office! i also got my business cards ;D i went straight to work because the deadline was at 1 pm. i got everything done but there is still something in the journey map that is bothering me. i’ll definitely fix it for the future or find a better solution. i ate lunch at the desk and then went downstairs to get foumami for dinner. the rest of the day were calls on calls. laurie came into the office today and organized a welcome lunch for all of the new hires in boston. apparently, we make up almost half of the office -- that’s crazy. i guess everyone else works in new york. i met up with kevin at the train station and then we ordered dinner at the fat cat. i got a side of fries to go with my salad that i devoured when we got back home. i got a bibimbap salad and they just drenched it in gochujang and i don’t think i’m going to finish it. x__x;

we drove to pick up food from fat cat and thanks to my terrible navigating skills, we had to drive around to get to oh my tea. they ran out of green tea (LOL gg) so we ended up getting just a rose tea with boba. it was alright. we quickly ate (the fries are so bomb) and then headed to cafe artscience for our three course dessert. it was a pretty bad ride because i am a terrible navigator and then i froze up because we kept missing our turns and stuff. we did get there a bit late but more or less on time. sigh. i almost had a panic attack -- i was so shaky from freaking out about boston’s windy ass roads. we sat at the bar, ordered a drink we didn’t finish, and finished a dessert alcohol a bartender gave us for funsies. kevin and i talked about some sad things, actually LOL. we drove home and then watched an episode of supernatural. i fell asleep and then woke up, showered, and got ready for bed. i was so tired.

15: the office was full today because we were getting a free lunch today LOL. it was a frustrating morning thanks to the project i’ve been struggling on and trying to fix. i kind of got it, but it’s just finicky. i worked on that until lunch and then we all went to bostonia public house. i met andrew and cole and i talked with him along with charles and kien. oh, i finally got to see cole again. when i walked into the office, he scared me awake LOL. i had to leave for a 1 pm call so i didn’t get to eat in the restaurant :( john left early too and asked me if i was going and then i told him i didn’t get my food yet and he just laughed at me LOLOLOL. he had gotten his food already and ate it. x_x i walked back with josh, a new developer. i got back a bit late and i had to take a bathroom break in the middle if the meeting, but it was ok. i caught up with phil and then i switched tasks for the day. i finished up right at 5 pm, talked with laurie and cole, and walked to south station with cole. then i got on the train and just bummed when i got home. i got my rotofugi package today: cute dino pin for my book bag, a mitten shaped tea infuser, and one of mary’s jade evolved rock figures! i also switched my side cabinet with charles’ because he wasn’t using his for any protective storage and i wanted to leave my laptop. so i took the key and locked up my pc laptop in the office. yay, now i can store things in the office without being suspicious or worrying.

oh, i got sprayed with water because boston drivers are assholes. i got hit 3 times basically and the water soaked my leggings and boots. -__-” kevin came back from climbing, we watched supernatural and then i did a bit of exercise because i haven’t been doing that these past two days D: sigh. i’m on such a sugar high/craving right now... well, i combated that with kickboxing today! it was much fun~ then i washed my hair and while it dried, i got two groupons for me and kevin to go to new england’s dessert showcase and for a sunset boat tour on the st. charles river~ i still have hillary’s gift card and i wonder if i should spend it on a maybe (need to call and ask) glassblowing class and/or pottery decorating class~ then i blow-dried my hair, brushed my teeth, and hopped into bed at the usual time -- around 1 am. haha.

16: when i was about to leave, i got a call from a client and helped her out with ux360. this was my first support call and it was so out of the blue. i think i did a pretty good job, and i loved helping her. i know that this job will test my communication skills and help me become better at giving instructions. i feel like i don’t explain myself well sometimes because i just assume others (especially ones that are close to me) know what i’m talking about and why i am talking about it. i often go on tangents when i speak to people so, i need to work on that. anyway, i helped her and then went on over to the office. i was supposed to go to kane’s donuts with cole in the morning but since i was late, we pushed it back until after his standup meeting. it wasn’t busy when we walked in and i bought 6 donuts for the office: chocolate orgasm, red velvet, boston cream, honey dipped, cinnamon, and creme brulee. mmm. obviously, cole got the boston cream for himself. haha. everything was pretty much gone at the end of the day; i took home like 1/3 of the creme brulee doughnut for kevin. i don’t think anyone except me touched the creme brulee...LOL.

work was nice and busy. i went to get lunch with cole at sabroso taqueria and got their salad with chicken. omg it is such a good and filling salad. it’s just romaine lettuce, pico de gallo, and black beans. mmmmm. i worked until 4:40 pm or so and then headed back home a bit early. i forgot to check in with phil so when i got home, i skyped him and caught up for tomorrow morning. i’m planning on maybe taking wfh days once a week, but i’m not sure yet. i got my pouch from india hicks today. i’m still feeling akjfnsjkdf about the price but i don’t want to return it because i would have to pay another $6.95 for return shipping -_- so i’m kinda forced to keep it. the good thing is that it fits all of my cables and adapters! i chilled for a bit and then started cooking dinner. i made our usual coconut kale fried rice. then kevin came back just as i finished washing the dishes and we ate dinner. i had to finish up some leftovers of the rice cake soup and then i ate some of the fried rice. we are officially caught up with supernatural :O idk what we’re gonna watch now...maybe we’ll catch up with criminal minds? kdjnfskjfs.

kevin went to shower and then i bummed around a bit to digest my food. then i did some ab workouts. for some reason, my abs have been constantly hurting? maybe i’m working them out via cardio without me noticing... i did 25 min of pure ab toning, 7 minute of hip hop cardio (wanted to dance to this one new video), and 45 minutes of kickboxing. kickboxing is so much fun and i’m sore all over right now. x__x; i showered right after and then went to sleep. i was so tired. zzzz.

17: i felt so sore and tired waking up today. i still went to work because i love my team, haha. it was a pretty slow friday though. it did pick up near the end of work with a good amount of meetings. i ate lunch at my desk and after the meetings, i felt a bit lightheaded and i was super shaky. it might have been the intense thoughts i was having about adulting at that moment that caused it. it could have also been the black tea and the amount of sugar and salty snacks i’ve had this week. i didn’t snack anytime during the day so my body kind of shut down. i asked the front where the vending machine was and i had to take the shady af freight elevator down to the basement and walk to a corner to get to it. i got something salty and sweet: jalapeno cheddar puffs and nature valley honey oat bars. i ate it while going up the elevator. kevin was worried about me haha. i felt a bit better after eating. there wasn’t much to do afterward so dave told me to go home early LOL. i still waited for phil and kevin to get back to me though. i had a chance to talk to phil for about 10 minutes before hopping off and meeting kevin at the train station. i was still there before him even though he left earlier and i gave him time? so confused.

we got home and started bumming. i love fridays because i get to spend some downtime with kevin (((: we talked about how i was feeling about people working just to work vs people working because that is their life. i’m someone who makes work their life passion because we spend so much time working, i feel like it’s a waste to not do something you love with that time, you know? i don’t think it’s a good thing either -- i stress out a lot and etc, but idk i like being busy for a purpose and feeling like i am adding to something to society. i do understand why some people just work to work and have a life outside of it though. it’s just not my style. anyway, we talked about that and then we talked about maybe heading to new york for the first weekend in march. we also talked about a vacation in the summer...maybe a cruise? maybe paris?! kevin and i want to do an international trip together but i don’t have enough pto time accrued to do that this year T___T we’re both down for an off-season trip though. we’d both love to go to iceland. anyway, i sprung this on kevin too fast so he has the weekend to think about it (mostly just the ny trip though).

i somehow ko’d and fell asleep for an hour...i woke up when kevin just started cooking. i woke up hungry so i ate some leftovers and snacked a bit. then i helped prep some food, make the sauce, etc. i ate a bit more with kevin while watching a dota 2 stream. then i took it easy and did 45 minutes of hip hop cardio. i wasn’t feeling it. i went to shower and went to sleep pretty early. i just sleep during the weekends to recharge lol.

18: mmm... i woke up at 7:30 am then went back to sleep and woke up at 10 am and then went back to sleep and finally got out of bed at like 12 or 1 pm LOL. my life is truly bummy on the weekends. kevin was supposed to climb in the morning, but obviously that didn’t happen. so we ate brunch, went to kam man to get rice (omg it was so packed because it was nice outside and we went there at like 2 pm), got tickets to see ‘split’ at the movies, and then drove across the street to the mall so i could return my hdmi adapter and exchange/find seamless underwear. the return happened super quickly. i caught one of the workers at the door and he helped me out. then we stopped by a new thinkgeek store! yassss. they had some cute stuff in there. then we went to aerie to see if their seamless underwear was actually seamless. mmm, i asked one of the store associates and she didn’t convince me so we left and headed back to victoria secret. kevin went to target to look for bigger containers so we could access our rice easier while i looked for the seamless underwear i wanted. 

it was packed in there and i could not find the ones i was looking for until i found someone and asked and she took me straight to the small table in the corner LOL. i got a better deal here than online so i picked neutral colors, got in line, kevin found me and i apologized for taking so long, and then i got my seamless underwear (FINALLY). i could have gotten another pair if i were a cardholder/printed out a coupon from pink but i didn’t know until later T__T it’s kinda still bugging me but eh it’s done. we went into target together and ended up buying cute colored stoneware containers, a cake stand (for our fruit LOL), and containers for rice. omg. hahaha. this is why we never go out of our way to go to target. then we drove back, kevin went climbing, i washed the dishes and all of the new stuff, put rice in the new containers, turned on the most recent episode of jane the virgin, moved our hard af brown sugar into one of the stoneware containers with a knife and a measuring cup, and then microwaved leftovers for dinner before heading out to the movie. haha. 

kevin took a bit longer than expected so we were rushed to get out of the apartment. we packed some chips and pretzels in snack bags to eat at the movie. we got there about 5 minutes before the movie started. the movie was pretty interesting and creepy if you keep thinking about it, but it was hard to get in the mood because there were these teenagers (i sound so old) in the front who kept giggling, making childish comments, and were on their phones the entire time -__-” me and kevin were like wtf. we found out that the movie is rated pg-13 so yeah... we’ll only go to rated-r movies now LOL. we got back, cuddled, and then kevin annoyed me LOL and then went to game. i finished watching ‘reign’ and then forced myself to do some exercise even though i felt tired and bloated. i really need to stop snacking T__T it’s making me feel terrible. then i showered and ko’d at like 1 am or even before that.

19: mmm got up late again. i’ve been feeling very tired lately. it’s probably the mix of my diet and new exercise routines. x__x i started laundry right away, ate breakfast with kevin while watching a pokemon showdown stream. then i cleaned the kitchen and bathroom while listening to music. then i curled my hair and tried looking for something to watch on netflix but they took down all of the cooking shows T____T i watched youtube videos instead. then i folded laundry and kevin and i went grocery shopping! lol we went pretty late because he wanted to game a bit longer. we stopped by oh my tea first and i got the aloe honey green tea bubble tea (hot) and i got kevin a pineapple green tea with bubbles and lychee jelly. they were both really yummy. then we drove to kam man and it was practically empty. we stopped by bj’s before it was about to close for the day and then we made it home at like 7 pm? lol kevin was hungry and wanted to buy so many other things that we didn’t need.

we microwaved leftovers and watched the latest episode of supernatural on the cwtv app and then started watching ‘izombie’ while cuddling and just relaxing. i think we have a new series to watch for now. it’s not the best but it’s entertaining. we then prepped the veggies for tomorrow’s ratatouille pasta and then i just prepared for working from home tomorrow. i wasn’t feeling well still... then i showered and found out that it’s that time of month but it’s been hurting a lot more than usual. ugh. so i just went to sleep and tried to make the pain go away :(

[booksbroadwaybbc]

How to get Paid to Build Self-Confidence: 3 Lessons Employment Taught me via /r/selfimprovement

How to get Paid to Build Self-Confidence: 3 Lessons Employment Taught me

“The man who says he can and the man who says he can’t are both right. Which one are you?” ~ Jimmy John’s Wall Ornament

This is a quote from a sign on the wall of where I work. When I am working, I feel it staring at me. The statement is so true. You can do whatever you believe you are capable of. Your ability is only limited by how confident you are in yourself. If you suffer from low-self confidence, have no worries, because confidence can be built. I know this from experiencing it build in myself.

Until I was 19 years old, I was an entitled brat, who loathed the idea of working a job. I feared the day my parents would force me to get a job. Little did I know, becoming employed was one of the best things that ever happened to me.

There were new experiences employment was waiting to share with me. By taking a leap of faith, exiting my comfort zone, I learned more about myself in 6 months than I did in the last 20 years.

I got my first job at Jimmy John’s. For those of you who are not familiar with it, Jimmy John’s is a franchise of small sandwich shops that are famous for their speedy production of gourmet sandwiches. The sandwiches start off as an 8 inch loaf of white french bread. Each sandwich is cut, lathered in mayo, topped with tomatoes, filled with lettuce, and covered with an assortment of meats and toppings all in under 30 seconds. It sounds simple, right? You would be surprised to know how stressful making a sandwich can be when you have a shop full of hungry customers, while juggling online and phone orders, all at once.

At one moment, you can have a steady stream of inshop customers. Piece of cake. But, moments later, you can be hammered with a relentless stream of online orders that come so fast and so often in addition to the inshop customers that you’d think there is a Jimmy God who enjoys watching you suffer.

That is only a slight exaggeration. For a new employee working a weekday lunch rush shift, this is what the first few months can feel like. But, it is a learning process. The more you experience the heat of the job, the more you get used to it. You actually begin to embrace it. This was the case for me.

This change in work ethic came about as the result of a change in mindset. In the past, I loathed having to do anything. There was no reason for this. I simply was lazy. But, by viewing my job as an opportunity to grow, I began to put intention into my work. Each task I had to do became an opportunity to be paid while testing my discipline and proficiency in completing a task.

Through this particular method of thought, I went from hating employment to believing it is a necessary part of personal growth. In the months I have been working at Jimmy John’s, I experienced a dramatic boost in self-confidence.

The 3 ways my confidence was boosted are:

Learning a skill

Interacting with new people

Belonging to a team

1. Learning a Skill

Being an employee at Jimmy John’s, there are a plethora of skills you must master to be as effective as possible. Considering sandwiches are the store’s primary source of revenue, the most important skill is efficiency of sandwich production. The faster we make a sandwich, the faster we can make the next one.

I believe, in order for you to fully understand how learning this skill made me more confident, you must understand exactly what the skill involves. Honestly, making sandwiches is not the hardest thing in the world to do. But, as a 20 year old with no prior experience, it was quite a hurdle. Keep this context in mind as you continue to read.

Before I could work, I had to pass the sandwich test. Jimmy John’s sells 19 different sandwiches, all of which I had to memorize. Fortunately for me, I was an expert in memorizing arbitrary facts due to my years of experience in school. I passed that on my first try and was ready to learn the sandwich making process.

There are three stages to the production of a sandwich:

Foundation Stage: In the first stage, the choice of bread is prepared. We offer three varieties of “bread”: french bread, wheat bread, and a lettuce wrap, called an unwich. Although nuanced, the type of bread determines the order of proceeding steps. Depending if the sandwich is a sub or a club, an appropriately placed cut is made into french bread. Subs are cut thin on the bottom while clubs are cut directly down the middle. For a standard sandwich, mayo, lettuce, and tomato are added in that order. The sandwich is then passed to the next stage.

Meat Stage: Depending on the sandwich chosen, one of 19 options, the appropriate meat and cheese is pulled and prepared for sandwich placement. Customers can personalize their sandwiches by adding or subtracting meats to their sandwich.

Meats are assorted in columns and rows on a refrigerated table. Corporate policy mandates that meats are pulled in descending column order, moving from left to right across rows.

Here is a visual example of pulling the meat for our biggest sandwich, The Gargantuan.

| 1. Vito | | 3. Turkey |

| 2. Roast Beef | | 4. Ham | | 5. Cheese |

(Vito is a mix of salami and spiced ham)

Wrapping Stage: This is the final stage, where the sandwich is wrapped and given to the customer. For the 3 different types of breads there are 3 different ways to wrap, respective to each type. French bread gets a standard wrap. Wheat bread is wrapped like a Christmas present. And, unwiches are first wrapped in a pouch that gives the formless lettuce wrap some structure, making it easier to eat. This wrap is then given the standard french bread wrap.

From this, you can see that I needed to learn how to:

make all 19 sandwiches

use kitchen tools

cut bread

spread mayo

pull meats from the table

wrap sandwiches

navigate around the table

find ingredients for restocking the table

On my first day, I came in 15 minutes early - in a manner of making a good first impression. In less than an hour of starting, I was on the table, making my first sandwich. I pulled the appropriate meat and placed it on the sandwich. That was not hard. But, the customer requested the sandwich be cut in half. Without any thought, I cupped my hand around the sandwich and proceeded to cut. To my dismay, my thumb was under the knife! I cut my thumb! At first, I was confused. I did not feel an ounce of pain. In a calm, composed tone, I spoke to the manager, asking him what I should do - as if my vital bodily fluids were not gushing down my hand and onto the sandwich; but, rather, I were asking him how his day was. The next thing I knew, I was on the floor and my coworkers were tending to my wound. I passed out! Less than an hour on the job and I already screwed up!

Despite making a fool of myself in front of people I did not know yet, I persevered and began training under my manager. The training process began with wrapping, then meats, and finally foundation.

I started off wrapping day-old bread. This was bread from the prior day’s bake that was too old to be used for sandwiches. We give it away for free to paying customers. I would wrap these before the expected 12 PM rushes. This gave me the ability to learn the wrapping skill without the pressuring time constraint of 30 second sandwiches. My first wrap was the most hideous thing I had ever seen. I did not understand the importance of bread placement on the sheet of wrapping paper. As such, there were angel wings(folds of paper) poking out of the edges of the wrap. I had not yet mastered the wrapping technique. It took me about a month to master this.

In my time working here, I have realized each employee’s wrap is different. Each wrap has a different personality relative to who wrapped it. This inspired me to have a sense of pride in my wraps. They are a projection of my priorities. For instance, if I hand out a half-assed wrap, it shows that I care little about my work - something both the managers and the customers notice.

Next came pulling meats. This is the easiest of the 3 stages. There are only two real difficulties with this position. The first being the meats sticking together. The meats are portioned in deli paper and stacked on top of each other. As a consequence, the meats like to stick to the paper above them. So, for instance, when you pull one portion of roast beef, you can accidentally pull the entire stack of portions out - requiring you to waste time fixing it. It can be a real pain in the ass, so I quickly learned the proper wrist action for effectively pulling the necessary portions of each type of meat.

Finally, I began learning the foundation process. This is by far the most difficult position in all of the shop. The person filling this position is aptly named the quarterback. The speed in which sandwiches are made is bottlenecked by the quarterback’s speed. There is a lot of stress associated with this position. As such, it is usually filled by a manager. But, that is not the case when I am working. I request to be in it.

At first, I consistently struggled with the foundation methods. There are certain techniques for cutting the bread and lathering the mayo that my wrists could not translate from thought to action. I knew what to do, but I lacked the coordination. This was a problem consistent practice solved. As I said, I requested this position on purpose.

After 4 months, I mastered the entire production process. I went from not being able to cut a sandwich in half to being one of the fastest sandwich makers in our shop. All it took was persistence. I came in each day ready to learn and be better.

From learning this skill, I found there to be two reasons why it helped me to develop a higher level of self-confidence.

The first reason came strictly from working the foundation stage. With the difficulty of this position, it became the biggest booster in my self-confidence. This is because I overcame my anxieties associated with the most complained about position in the shop. When I first started, I was overwhelmed with it. I thought too much and acted too little. I remember when a rush hit us out of nowhere, I just stood there paralyzed with anxiety, unsure of what to do!

Through persistence of practice, I overcame my anxieties and became more confident in my ability to handle this position.

The second reason came from learning the entire sandwich skill itself. This is because, in possessing this skill, I offered value to my coworkers. By possessing an ability that offers value to others, you earn a degree of esteem amongst your peers. This respect is not intrinsic to simply existing. It is something that can only be earned through offering value. Having earned the right to deserve respect, you naturally build confidence. This is because you successfully endured a time of trial and came out on top.

Lesson: The accomplishment of learning a skill boosts your confidence because you realize how competent you really are.

2. Interacting With Customers

If your job involves offering a service, you likely interact with many different people on a daily basis. Most of these people you would never interact with outside of your job. Depending on where you work, each interaction can be an opportunity to develop your social skills.

Take, for instance, manning a cash register. For me, this was scary at first. The interaction with strangers was something I rarely did. I was used to hiding in the comfort of my small, established social group. This group was small for a reason - I was afraid to talk to people! And, now I am being paid to do just that!

The Jimmy John’s business culture encourages employees to interact with customers. While this is primarily for building rapport with the clientele, I personally used it to improve my social skills.

In my experience as a cashier, I learned a lot about how to interact with new people. I started small, with barebones interactions of taking orders. As I became more comfortable, I moved on to having more in-depth conversations with customers.

These conversations started with simply asking how their day was. Some customers would give me vivid descriptions of their day, while others would give me unamused stares with no response. Depending on how disclosing the customer was, I was able to have full-on, interesting conversations with them. Some of these interactions grew to be relationships. When serving these customers, we refer to each other by our first names, shake hands when greeting each other, and take the time to keep up with each other’s life. After consistently being able to develop these relationships with customers, I smashed through my mental barriers - developing a higher level of self-confidence. But, how!? How could getting to know strangers boost my self-confidence? The answer is simple: experience.

My former self lacked social confidence because I never put my thoughts to the test. For instance, when trying to approach the attractive girl in my English class, all the potential ways I could approach her would run through my mind. But, I never acted upon any of them because I was unsure of which approach would to use. This was simply the result of lacking experience with people.

Being on the register, I had many opportunities to interact with attractive women. This meant I had to look them in the eyes and maintain composure. This was my chance to experiment. Simply maintaining eye contact was a huge jump for me. From there, I tried to start conversations with them while their orders were being made. Most of the time they were very responsive. It was all in my confidence. I learned how to give women a fun, interesting conversation full of many laughs.

The register forced me into shock growth because I had no other option but to interact with these women.

Lesson: The more you experiment with social interactions, the more confident you will be in them.

3. Belonging to a Team

When you belong to an organization, you belong to a team. Large teams of people working in unison can accomplish more than a team of one. As the team is bigger, too is the reward. While the reward is often materialistic in nature, the true reward comes from the sensation of achievement. This is what motivates a team to continue to win.

At Jimmy John’s, teamwork is the cornerstone of our success. Each team member has their own individual strengths that mute the weaknesses of others. We all have something to offer the team. In the instance of a new employee, not only do they have to learn the individual on-the-job skills, but they also have to learn to work with the team.

When I first started, I had no idea how my team operated. I would stand there watching the coordination of my new coworkers. There were six people making sandwiches on two tables. Drivers were moving back and forth from table to table, reading ticket items to prepare a bag for delivery. And, a cashier dancing from the cash register to the telephone, taking customers’ orders. At that point, I would not even consider myself part of the team. I had yet to be assimilated into the labor flow.

In time, I became another cog in the machine. My success became my team’s success. With each wave of hungry customers, we buckled down and tackled the challenge together. During the most difficult of times, as I could feel the stress in my own body, I could see the stress on each other’s face. We suffered together. We won together.

I primarily worked two positions. I am either manning the cash register or working the foundation stage of sandwich production. At the cash register, I am expected to communicate order details to the foundation worker, to pull the order ticket from the printer, and to hang it in front of the table workers. When I am working the foundation stage, I am expected to communicate sandwich details to the meat puller and wrapper who are down the table. If I am dealing with a delivery order, on top of communicating with the other table workers, I have to give a driver the order details so they can prepare a delivery bag..

Being a part of this team, I grew in confidence. This was because my team accepted me. They needed someone to hold a position while doing it at the best of their abilities. I was the guy for the job and they knew it. But, I knew I was capable of more.

As I learned the rhythms of the shop (expected rush times, ingredient preparation deadlines, and delivery truck days), I began to be more of a leader. I knew what needed to be done and where people should be as to make our operation as smooth as possible. At first, this leader role was self-appointed. This mostly consisted of telling my peers to man a position as myself and others were occupied. The managers eventually noticed my eagerness to play a bigger role in the shop. As such, they made me the designated authority when they are not around.

This skyrocketed my confidence because, not only did I think I was capable of success, but my team did as well.

From gaining this confidence, I have become a more assertive communicator. I have no issue telling others what I am thinking. The most difficult part of this was learning to not come off as an asshole. I did this by understanding to carefully consider the context of a situation and the states mind of those in it.

In the instance of JImmy John’s, we are employees of the store who come in each day to offer a service in return for money. We will do whatever is expected of us to get it. With that being said, each of us understands to respect authority and to perform a task, regardless of how we feel about it. This gives someone, such as myself, warrant to direct others to positions they need to fill.

Lesson: By being part of a team, you grow in confidence as a result of your teammates acknowledging your competence.

Conclusion:

The gradual change in my overall confidence was not fully realized until quite recently. Over the past few months, I have noticed a significant change in my behavior that are uncharacteristic of my former self.

This significant change was the development of assertiveness. No longer do I allow people to walk over me or what I believe in. I realized this when talking to my college friend John. He suffers from low self-confidence. As such, he was unable to stand up for himself when our friend group harassed him. John is a tender, caring guy who only wants only the best for those around him. He has an aura of innocence to him that broadcasts implied submissivity, which allows others to easily take advantage of him. He is the “nice guy”. This gave him no mode of defense when our peers would harass him.

The biggest issue was that none of them gave him positive attention. He would add to a conversation, but instead of being regarded, they would act like children and make fun of him. This can be considered friend talk but John did not view it as friendly. He struggled with having friends and this did not make it any easier.

When he would try to leave the group, they would add him back. After he told me about this, I stood up and called the cowards out. I do not care if I had to see these people for another 3 years. I told them what they were doing was cruel and unacceptable and that it needed to stop NOW. They proceeded with childish comments about me being “buthurt”. From this, I talked to John about why I do not care for these people and why he should not either. We both agreed it was childish and that we wanted no part in their charades. Having a strong figure to give him an example of assertiveness, John began his own journey in building his self-confidence. I know this because he likes to remind me of this situation and how it changed him.

In the past, I could not stand up for myself, let alone someone else. I owe my courage to the increased self-confidence that I gained through my experiences working at Jimmy John’s. From working here, I learned to make the most of my situations. With a growth mindset, I viewed each experience as an opportunity to be better. As a result, I was paid to become a stronger, more confident person.

TL;DR

Learning a skill: The accomplishment of learning a skill boosts your confidence because you realize how competent you really are.

Interacting with people: The more you experiment with social interactions, the more confident you will be in them.

Belonging to a team: By being part of a team, you grow in confidence as a result of your teammates acknowledging your competence.

Submitted August 08, 2018 at 05:21PM by gandamede via reddit https://ift.tt/2vsOweQ