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hellfirenacht · 5 years

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Can’t Be Unseen Chapter 4

Sal Fisher x Reader

First Chapter

Previous Chapter

AO3

Chapter Summary: You attend a holiday party and you consider abandoning ship.

The week leading up to the party at Sal’s place wasn’t anything exciting. You spent most of it either catching up on your sleep or hanging out in the basement with Larry, Sal, and whoever else was around at the time. It wasn’t exciting, but it was normal which is all you could have hoped for after everything that happened. Sure, you still found yourself harboring feelings for your friend but it was more tolerable now. You still held yourself back from flirting too hard for him, but when anyone else was around it was a lot easier.

“Hey, your dad need any decorations for the party?” you asked one evening as you all huddled around the tv, none of you paying much attention. “My parents have so many Christmas decorations they don’t have room to put out, I’m sure they’d be happy to lend it to someone else.”

“I’ve never seen anyone act more like a cheesy holiday special like your parents.” Larry said, shoving some popcorn in his mouth. “It’s almost creepy how much they try to push the holiday spirit.”

You just shrugged. “They met and fell in love during the holidays, so they really are the living embodiment of every bad holiday rom com.”

“Got any decorations that aren’t strictly Christmas?” Sal asked. “Dad’s trying to be more inclusive.”

“Oh yeah, we got tons of general winter stuff. Plus my uncle’s wife is Jewish, so we have an alarming number of dreidels and star of David’s for a house that doesn’t even go to church. Larry stop hogging the popcorn!” you scold, pulling the half-eaten bowl away from your friend.

“Come on, I’m hungry!” he pouted.

“You’re stoned.” Sal corrected.

“Puff puff pass includes more than the joint, Larry. You gotta share the snacks, too.” you laughed at him and threw an unpopped kernel at him.

“It’d actually be helpful if you could bring some decorations.” Sal said, pushing some popcorn under his mask. “I love my dad but he’s really bad at this kind of thing. I think it was actually Lisa’s idea.”

“Yeah, my mom’s been doing the decorating for Addison Apartments for about 10 years now.” Larry chimed in. “Sometimes they give her a budget for it, but most of the time she’d had to reuse old stuff that’s fallen apart.”

“My parents go wild for post-holiday sales so we should have some sturdy things lying around. I’ll see what I can dig up.”

...

LarryFace: who else is coming to the party?

SallyFace: us, Ashley and her new girlfriend, Todd, Neil, Chug, Maple, your mom uh...

LarryFace: that’s a lot of highschoolers for a holiday party your dad wants to throw

SallyFace: yeah but I think its cause he wants me to be a normal teen and have a normal party for once. I didn’t even start celebrating my birthday until I moved here

LarryFace: wait really? I had no idea.

SallyFace: yeah theres also a chance hes using this as a way to fake a surprise party for me

LarryFace: SallyFace is gonna finally be 18, i’m so proud. No more having to lie on porn sites that youre an adult!

SallyFace: ha ha and did I mention ha?

...

You spend most of Friday digging through the large tubs of old decorations that your parents hadn’t put out, picking out what would be the best and easiest to bring upstairs to Sal’s place. You couldn’t help but shake your head, when it came to winter decorations, your parents were borderline hoarders. Really, you were doing them a solid by going through all this stuff and throwing out broken decorations or unsafe looking Christmas lights.

The past 3 years that you lived in the apartments, come winter time you always knew which window was yours when looking outside the building. Your parents always insisted on some sort of light up winter decoration, as they didn’t have a house to fully blow the power out on every December. It was one of the few things you humored them on. You didn’t want your own personal tree in your room, but you could live with a snowman waving out at anyone who happened to be on the street.

After filling a small tub with enough decorations, you looked at the clock and cursed to yourself. It was already 4 pm and you told Sal that you’d be their early to help set up! That didn’t give you much time to get ready.

You rushed through your routine of getting ready, changing into your favorite comfortable outfit and topping it with a Santa hat to keep it festive. Despite the rush job, you had to admit to yourself that you looked pretty damn good. It had been a while since you had dressed up for yourself, without worrying about wanting to impress anyone. This was you, and you liked it.

Shoving keys in your pocket, you ran to the fridge and pulled out two bottles of apple cider that your parents had bought.

Have fun at your party! We’ll be out late recreating the first night we met!

Which you decided to translate to “gone boning for the weekend, don’t die”. Gross, but at least you go the place to yourself for the next few days.

With everything in hand, you finally made your way to the elevator and towards the Fisher apartment. Henry was the one to open the door and let you in, thanking you for lending him the decorations.

“These are from my parents.” you added, handing over the bottles of cider.

“Alright, now it’s a rager!” Larry laughed from the kitchen while his mom laughed. Looks like they came here early as well to help out. From where you stood, you could see that Larry was also wearing a Santa hat with the word ‘naughty’ on it.

“Do you want to give me a hand with the decorations?” Lisa asked, still managing to be in work mode even on her day off. “I’m sure we can make this place look real special for tonight.”

“Is anything special specifically happening?” Asked Sal, his head facing your direction.

“Nope, it’s just a nice little holiday party for our sons and their friends.” Lisa replied.

“So I should ignore the cake that my dad brought home and is hiding somewhere?” Sal asked with a small laugh.

“You sure should if you don’t want to be smacked with a broom.” Lisa scolded playfully.

“She’ll do it too, dude.” chimed in Larry.

Sal held his hands up in defeat. “I understand, this is just a regular holiday party that just happens to fall very close to my actual birthday and the fact that you had me invite all of my friends and none of yours it just a coincidence.”

“Now you’re getting it, son!” Henry laughed.

With your decorations, Lisa’s eye for making things work, and Larry’s tallness, by the time 6 rolled around, the apartment looked awesome. There were strands of lights hanging all around, food on the counter and table, and Larry was setting up a tape deck to play music. From the corner of your eye you saw Larry remove a green and red tape and Sal putting in an older more beat up tape. They pressed play and you were a little surprised to hear generic holiday music play. Larry caught you eye and gave you a wink that made you feel like something was gonna happen later.

Todd and Neil were the first to arrive, not surprising as Todd lived in the building as well. You and Neil had English together but had never really talked before, but Todd was really happy with him and that’s all that mattered.

Ashley arrived next with her new girlfriend, Jamie. She was pretty cute and bubbly and excited to meet and talk to everyone. You swear that when it was your turn to talk that you went through five different topics in three minutes before the bounced to the next person. Jamie sure was energetic, but she’d always bounce back to Ashley to give her a kiss on the cheek or check on her. It was too damn adorable really.

The arrival of Chug and Maple surprised everyone. They showed up late, citing that he’d been waiting for Maple to arrive, but that wasn’t what surprised everyone. What was surprising was him and Maple holding hands as they walked in.

“We’ve been dating for a few weeks,” explained Maple. “I just didn’t wanna make it public until I thought it was solid.”

You were happy for the two of them, but you were starting to see a pattern with the guest list. Was this a holiday party or a Valentines party? You found yourself glancing at Lisa who leaned over to give Henry a quick peck on the cheek before moving some chairs around.

“They also made it official with us right after Thanksgiving.” Sal said, watching his dad and Lisa. “I’m really happy for them.”

“Yeah, me and Sal have a master plan to make them get married so that we can be one big family.” Larry explained. “Total Parent Trap material.”

“Seems more like an It Takes Two to me.” you offered up.

“So Sal,” Larry said, looking around the party. “Why didn’t you tell me that this was a hook-up party? Looks like everyone brought a date but us.”

Sal shrugged. “I didn’t really plan for it to be, looks like everyone just got together at once.”

Larry suddenly slung his arm around your shoulder. “Well if that’s the case then I call dibs on this one.”

You couldn’t help but let out a laugh. “Do I get a say in this at all? Come on Larry, at least pretend to romance me.”

“You’re hot, lets date.” Larry replied, and you couldn’t help but fake a swoon.

“I’m won over instantly. I’m changing all my relationship statuses to ‘taken’. You are clearly my soulmate.” The three of you couldn’t stop laughing.

“Wait, that means I’m the only one here without a date at my own not-birthday party.” Sal suddenly realized.

“Sounds like a bad song from the 50’s.”

“At least I still have Gizmo?” Sal replied half-heartedly.

“I wouldn’t be too sure about that, dude.” Larry said looking over at Todd and Neil where Gizmo was enjoying the attention from the two of them.

“He only loves you for your pets and food!” Sal called over to them in fake hurt.

“Tough break, Sal.” you said. “But hes’ got the right idea. I’m also hungry and constantly wanting attention.”

“On it!” Larry said, removing his arm from around you and running off towards the kitchen. You were confused for a moment, looking at Sal questioningly. He just shrugged, and a moment later, Larry was back with a plate of food in one hand as his other draped back around your shoulder.

“Food? Check. Attention? Check.” Larry said with a smile. “I’m totally nailing this boyfriend thing.”

You snorted. “Boyfriend already? It just seems like five minutes ago you asked me on our first date. Oh where has the time gone?”

“It was more like three minutes ago.” Sal replied, stealing a cookie from the plate in Larry’s hand. You followed his lead and shoved one in your mouth as well.

“Details, man, details.”

As the night continued on, Larry didn’t let up on the whole ‘boyfriend’ act. It was a little confusing but you found yourself not completely minding the attention. He kept his arm around you, called you really stupid pet names and always made sure that there was food on your plate. You had to admit for a moment that it felt nice to have someone else putting in the effort for once. You were usually the one to pay attention to the little details, to move things forward, to think of things that you and a possible significant other to do together but to have someone do the same in return? It just felt nice.

So nice that you continued playing along, and with you on board did Larry crank it up to eleven. It even started to feel more like a challenge- who could out-date the other one? He called you a pet name? You threw an over the top compliment back. Larry got you more food? You hand fed him from the plate. It was absolutely disgusting, and you were loving every minute of it.

Of course, every relationship has its ups and downs. Larry complimented Sal on his ugly holiday sweater by calling it ‘the sexiest thing he’d ever seen’ and it was only logical that you faked offence and dumped him on the spot. Heartbroken, Larry had no choice but to try and rebound with Sal, who was having absolutely none of this nonsense. However, when you were done with your soda, you realized the error of your ways and begged him to take you back and also please get you another drink.

Before the end of the night, you and Larry would have broken up 3 times, gotten engaged, called off a wedding, and had announced that you two were going to elope. It was all very stupid and very dramatic.

But before that, it was time for the cake to be brought in. Lisa cut the lights and Henry walked in with a large cake with two candles that had 18 on them.

“Happy birthday, Sal!” Henry said to his son, and Sal shook his head a bit.

“Wow, what a surprise that I did not see coming. At all. I’m super surprised!” Sal said with a slight laugh in his voice.

Larry was the first to start singing Happy Birthday, and it was only when everyone was done that everyone realized that maybe this wasn’t the most well thought-out plan.

Sal, taking it in stride, took a deep breath and blew.

Of course, nothing happened as he was still wearing his prosthetic which blocked his mouth.

“Oh, maybe we could-” started Lisa, when she was interrupted by a sudden change of music. The pleasant generic holiday songs suddenly swapped over to what you think was a heavy metal cover of Jingle Bell Rock.

Larry jumped up and moved away starting to thrash his head back and forth. Sal took the moment of confusion to unstrap the bottom of his prosthetic and blow out the candles before strapping it back on. He was next to get up and run over to Larry and start headbanging.

You suddenly remembered seeing Larry and Sal switch the tape earlier. You wondered if they planned on this during the cake or it if it was just a coincidence. It didn’t matter much though as Ashley and Chug also got up and joined the headbanging, Jamie was quick to follow. You looked over at Todd and Neil who shrugged, Todd setting his glasses carefully on the table and also joining in.

There was no way that Lisa and Henry had intended a yuletide holiday mini-pit for Sal’s birthday, but there they were. It was quite the site to see all these high schoolers banging their heads in their ugly sweaters and Santa hats for three minutes straight. Lisa quickly pulled out a camera and took a snapshot of everyone which was bound to be blurry with all the movement but it was okay.

At some point during the song your Santa hat flew off, but you didn’t care. The rush of adrenaline spending this moment with your friends was enough. When the song ended, it abruptly went back to the soothing holiday music from before. Larry and Sal were laughing hard and high fiving each other.

“And how long had you been planning that?” asked Lisa.

“Ab... about two days.” laughed Larry.

“We didn’t plan on it happening during the cake, just kinda happened that way.” added Sal. “Couldn’t have picked a better time though.”

“At least you guys didn’t knock anything over.” Henry said with an amused smile. “Was everyone in on it?”

“Nope, just us. Having everyone join was just an added bonus.” Larry reached down and handed you back a Santa hat. You noticed that his had been flung off as well.

Lisa cut the cake for everyone and Henry pulled out a gift for Sal- a vinyl copy of Sanitys Fall first single. You felt a little bad that you hadn’t brought anything for Sal, but considering no one else had known that this was a surprise party (well, except the birthday boy, ironically) it was okay. You mentally made a note to get him something or do something special for him later.

Cake time was filled with small talk and a relaxed atmosphere. Larry fed you a bite of cake, but in typical fashion it looked like he was trying to shove half a slice in your mouth instead. It took you a good minute to finally chew it up, followed by a few huge gulps of your drink. The whole thing was dumb, but it was all in good fun.

Once everyone had their fill of cake, Henry announced that it was movie time and everyone else wondered back to the sitting area.

Larry sat next to you on the couch, his arm wrapping around your waist. Even though the night had been filled with playful teasing and flirting, there was something about having him so close in the dimly lit room that felt a little more... intimate. Every flirt and touch tonight had been something of a joke for everyone’s enjoyment, a good goof to make everyone else laugh. Not this though, in the light of the tv that Henry was setting up, it was a gesture for just the two of you.

Your hips were pressed against Larry’s, and his arm was around your waist and it felt like something a real couple should be doing. You looked around to confirm it; Chug had his arm around Maples shoulders on the other side of the room and Todd was holding hands with Neil. Your heart was starting to beat faster and you felt your face heating up, suddenly glad that it was dark in the apartment.

This really wasn’t like you, to get so flustered. You were used to being in control of situations like this, but Larry had suddenly thrown you off your game. He had created a tension between you two and you could tell that he was feeling it too, whatever it was.

The best way to take back the situation, you decided, was to just lean into it. Enjoy the attention from your (admittedly) attractive friend and for the next 45 minutes, just pretend that this on-going gag between the two of you was real. Maybe it’d even distract you from your lingering feelings for-

Sal plopped next to you on the couch. Ah, yes, of course, why would anything be easy? Nope, you were going to ignore the blue haired boy next to you and watch this cheesy holiday special, and not think about how last week he held you while you cried.

Ah, fuck. This was gonna be a very long hour, wasn’t it?

The first few minutes were a slog to get through, as you mind wouldn’t let you focus on anything but the two boys who you were sitting between. It got easier as the plot picked up though, soon you found yourself able to focus all of your attention to the television. At least until you felt something heavy press against your shoulder.

Prosthetic slightly askew, the side of Sal’s head was pressing limply against you. Sal was completely conked out against your shoulder and you had no idea what to do. As much as you had joked about wanting to be between these two boys, this wasn’t exactly what you had in mind.

You glanced at Larry, hoping that he could help you out, but he was engrossed in the movie, not paying any attention to the fact that his best friend had fallen asleep on his fake-girlfriend. Looking at Sal, you considered nudging him awake, but remembering how hard it was for him to fall asleep most nights anyway stopped you. Who were you to prevent him from getting some much needed sleep? He was probably still messed up from some of the all-nighters during testing.

The thumping in your chest felt so loud as if everyone should be able to hear it. Even worse, you couldn’t tell if your heart was pounding for Sal or Larry. You still liked Sal, that much was true. Getting over Sal was a slow process, some days you’d be okay with just his friendship but some days you still found yourself daydreaming about being more. Shutting down those feelings were never easy, but they were necessary.

With Larry it was always an easy friendship, and you had to admit that you found the greasy stoner look more attractive than you should have. Plus the attention he had been giving you all night had been so nice.

What did that really mean? Yes, the attention was nice but was it nice because it came from Larry or would you be feeling this way about anyone who paid attention to you right now? You tried to imagine someone else in Larry’s place. Chug? It didn’t feel right with Chug but that felt more because you didn’t feel comfortable daydreaming about anyone with a significant other.

Damn, that was almost everyone in your friend group by this point. Why did this have to be so confusing? On top of all that, you didn’t even know what was going through Larry’s head right now. As far as you knew, this was still just part of the joke and you were now the punchline.

Something warm snapped you back into reality, making your head spin. Larry’s thumb was rubbing small circles on your hip idly, sending small sparks up your spine. Now he was just playing dirty at a game you weren’t sure you knew all the rules to.

Between the two boys who you found very attractive it was starting to get very warm in more ways than you wanted to admit. You were going to need a long shower after this, and you weren’t sure if it was going to be a warm or cold one at this point.

Your mind continued to wrestle with itself for the rest of the movie until the end credits rolled. Larry got up without a beat and announced that he needed to use the bathroom, leaving you to deal with the still passed out birthday boy on your shoulder. A few months ago you would have been thrilled to be his pillow and let him sleep for as long as he wanted, but now it felt wrong to have him so close.

“Sal, you’re drooling on me.” You said quietly, nudging him awake. Sal sat up, taking a moment to remember what was going on before adjusting his prosthetic.

“Ah, sorry about that.” he said.

“No worried, I’m gonna go help Lisa and Henry clean up.” you told him before quickly moving to the kitchen where the two adults were putting away food and taking down some of the decorations that you had lent.

“Thanks again for the decorations and helping set up.” Henry said before waving goodbye to Chug and Maple who were headed out.

“It’s no problem. Like I said, my parents love the holidays. Half this stuff wasn’t gonna get put up at our place anyway.

As the rest of the guests filled out it was just you, the boys, and the adults left to clean up the party. It was quiet, but not uncomfortably so between the five of you. You were looking forward to going back to your place and having some quiet time away from boys.

“I think that’s the last of your decorations.” Lisa said, setting the box on the counter. “Lar-bear we’re almost done here. Why don’t you help her carry those back to her apartment then you’re free to go.”

So much for having some time alone to think. You were about to protest and say that you could handle taking it back on your own, but Larry was already lifting the box.

“Great party, Sally Face.” Larry said, giving his best friend a fist bump.

“Glad you two could make it.” Sal replied, before leaning in and giving you a quick hug.

These boys were so good at playing dirty it wasn’t even funny.

“Thanks for the invite. See you all later!” you said with a smile and followed Larry out into the hallway. There was an awkward tension between the two of you still, he hadn’t said much to you since the beginning of the movie, and as much as you wanted to ask him about his arm around your waist earlier, you were worried that bringing it up would make things worse.

“So where’d you find that Jingle Bell Rock cover?” you asked, trying to change the mood as you two got into the elevator.

“I found the tape while looking through my dad’s old music collection.” Larry replied. “I was wondering why he had a tape of generic holiday music and just stumbled onto it.”

“Ah, I see.” You wanted to smack your head. Way to accidentally bring up his disappeared dad. Good job. The awkward tension returned to full force for those few long moments between exiting the elevator and entering your apartment. You flipped on your light switch and the apartment lit up like a Christmas tree. In fact it lit up the actual Christmas tree in the middle of your living room, along with strings of lights all over the apartment.

“What the fuck...?” Larry started.

“I know.”

“I knew your parents were into-”

“I know.”

“You weren’t kidding at all.”

“I knooooow.”

“Actually I think you downplayed it.”

“Yes Larry, as I have stated, I know.”

Larry set down the box of decorations next to the door and invited himself in to look around. The whole living room looked like something out of a Hallmark movie, with silver and gold decorations all over the place. Snowflakes were plastered over the walls, garland was draped over every window, and along the wall hanging over the tv were three hand-decorated stockings, each carefully customized for you and your parents. Larry was looking over them with a slightly confused expression.

“It’s a tradition for my family.” you explained. “We’ve used the same stockings every year since I was born. Each year we get to pick a pin or a decoration or something to add on to the stocking that we feel defines our year. The only rule is that we have to keep it winter themed, so it can get pretty abstract.”

“That’s... kinda fuckin’ neat.” Larry said, looking over your stocking. “Care to share with the class?”

You looked over the stocking and pointed to a very small present box that was hot glued on. “Okay, so I added that when I was about fifteen right? So when I was a kid I was a total space cadet and had a lot of trouble making and keeping friends because I was very introverted.”

“You? Introverted?” Larry said with a surprised tone.

“We moved around a lot.” You shrugged. “I guess I got used to being by myself to the point where I stopped making an effort. But anyway, this was the year I moved here and met you and Sal and Ash. Between the three of you, I felt more grounded. Plus my parents promised that this was the last time we were moving so anyway, long story short, I glued that gift box on my stocking because I felt more... present.”

“That was terrible but also so fucking adorable I don’t even think I can be mad at it.” Larry said with a straight face.

You shrugged. “You guys are the best friends I’ve ever had.”

Larry moved away from the stockings and looked around the decorations more. You were more than happy to point out which ones held the most sentimental value and which were bargain bin decorations that your parents just had to have.

“And what’s with the frog?” He asked suddenly, pointing up at a stuffed frog hanging above your head. It was green with a santa hat with thick red lips. Your heart suddenly sped up to sonic speeds as you realized where you two were standing.

“It’s not a frog.” you said quietly.

“I think I know a frog when I see one.”

“It’s a toad.”

“What’s the diff-”

“A mistle-toad.”

Larry let out a groan at the pun. “Do all of your decorations have a terrible pun attached to them?”

“I don’t wanna hear that from you.” You laughed. “You’re like the king of terrible puns.”

“Yeah but I don’t deserve this kind of punishment.”

“...Pun-ishment.”

“Don’t start.”

“I swear it was pun-intentional.” you continued.

“Oh my god, shut up.”

“Make me.”

There are fewer words known to up any sexual tension between two people than the combination of ‘shut up’ followed by ‘make me’. Those two phrases alone can change the course of an entire relationship between two people.

“Okay.”

What?

Larry reached out and placed a hand on your lower back, pulling you closer to him. He stopped for a moment, as if to give you a chance to pull away or make any indication that you didn’t want what was about to happen to happen. You found yourself unable to move any way but forward into your friend, which he took as a sign to go ahead.

‘He has enough nose for both him and Sal.’ you found yourself thinking.

His lips were warm and slightly chapped against yours but it was far from unpleasant. Warmth spread throughout your body and in the back of your head a small voice said that tonight's shower was gonna be a cold one. Your hands found his hips and you felt the cold metal of his wallet chain against your warm hands for a moment. The kiss was in a weird limbo where though it was more chaste, there was a hint of wanting more from both sides.

You were about to give into the side of you that wanted more when Larry pulled back, his cheeks a bit red.

“I gotta admit, I’ve kinda wanted to do that all night.” he said quietly, taking you by surprise.

“Do... you like me?” you asked, hands still on his hips.

“I don’t know.” he admitted. “I mean, you’re really funny and easy to talk to and you look really hot tonight. I’m gonna be completely honest, I’m definitely thinking with my dick right now more than anything.”

You found yourself smiling up at him, feeling a little relieved. If Larry had admitted to having any feelings for you right then, you weren’t sure if you could handle it, but if your close attractive friend was just wanting to kiss you, that was okay, right?

He took a step back. “I’m sorry. That was probably a bad idea. I know you’re still dealing with the whole Sally Face thing and this isn’t helping-”

“Larry, do you wanna make-out?” you asked. He looked at you in surprise and you gave him a small smirk. “Best way to get over someone is to get under someone else, right?”

“Are you sure? I don’t wanna complicate our friendship or make anything weird between us.”

“I won’t catch feelings if you don’t.” you said, lowering your voice a little.

He stared at you for a moment before grabbing your hand and dragging you over to the couch. “Oh fuck yes.” were the last words he said before pulling you into another kiss.

Next Chapter

Author Note: Sal x Reader is still end game.

#sally face x reader #sal fisher x reader #sal fisher #sally face #cbu #nacht fic

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tiberius-nero-holmes · 5 years

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I live for Kit headcanons 💕

Okay I’m sorry for the long wait for the long wait for the reply butI’ve been thinking about this for a while to be honest

1. His fashion sense ranges from like Elio from Call Me By Your Name, like jeans and loose buttons up tucked in at the waist (also known as classy 80′s Italian gays), to just awful meme shirts and basketball shorts, and there is no in between

2. His primary music taste is like indie rock bands suck as The Stone Roses, Vampire Weekend and The Smiths though he is also fond of The Fray and Gorilla. His guilty pleasures are McFly and The Jonas Brothers.

3. He loves musicals but because his dad was an absolute clown he wouldn’t let him leave the house to see any nor would he buy any for Kit since he didn’t want to have to watch so he’d get them from the shadow market and watch them in the middle of the night so as to not disturb his dad.

4. I think he’s got a propensity for learning languages and it’s really easy for him because it’s just memorising things, something he’s had to do for a very long time.

5. Since he got barely any affection as a child he goes absolutely hog-wild whenever anyone gives him affection. Jem ruffled his hair once and he had to go lay down for an hour (without letting them know what he was doing of course)

6. I think he’s a lot more comfortable exploring gender identity and expression than perhaps other people because his childhood he didn’t really get to socialise with other children and get put into a rigid box. I’m not sure if he’s identify as anything other than a man, but he’d be more than happy to rock a dress.

7. Christmas is his favourite holiday (which while super cliche, isn’t for cliche reasons). This was the day that his dad was most likely to talk about his mum after a day of drinking.

8. Speaking of his mum, before he was around 7 he’d ask about his mum a lot but when he learned it just mad his dad mad he’d just draw a lot of pictures which he’s thought his mum might look like and write descriptions on the back of how he wished she was.

9. Before he found out he was a shadowhunter, he used to have a distant dream of leaving his life of thieving and robbery behind to become a comic book artist.

10. He loved the Iron Man movies and comics because his stories gave him comfort. He relates to how Tony overcame a bad childhood with minimal affection to become a kind and compassionate person, and how it still shows the side effects that come from hardships and trauma.

I hope you liked this! I did more than I expected to tbh.

#kit herondale #headcanon #i tried my best okay #tda #the dark artifices

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martinlawless · 3 years

Text

Velo-Schils BMCR Double Circuit Races

2 x Cat ABCD races 9 May 2021 Northern Gateway Sports Park, Colchester

The Northern Gateway Sports Park is a rubbish name for a really good brand new facility on the edge of Colchester. It features a one-mile cycle circuit loop. The Velo-Schils BMCR races there caught my eye as it was a chance to check it out.

This would be my first BMCR race and partly a plan to focus more and more on veteran’s racing, with a view to having a good go at some of the Vet 50+ races next year. The 30 spaces filled up pretty fast and I scanned the start list beforehand and did a crude calculation of who I might be able to get the best of, and who was better than me. My slide rule suggested I would be 14th.

I packed well in advance. It’s nice to feel prepared. However, with 48 hrs to go, my rear wheel decided to fail. It is on its last legs. Or maybe even finished. Luckily, a word out through Strava and I had several offers of a spare wheel. I also found time to see Richard in Ashwell for some TLC on the wheel to patch it up as best as could be done.

The drive over is quite long, but it’s very easy and I’m there without fuss. The facility is really new. It reminds me of Lee Valley Velodrome in some ways: layout and general buzz. The circuit has a similar vibe too.

The loop is really quite straightforward, making it fast. The bends are mostly gentle, it’s as good as flat, so every corner is attacked at speed. It is a flatter version of the Lee Valley circuit, without the dead-ish corner at the far end. An MK Bowl-Lee Valley lovechild. It does have an oddly sketchy chicane - near the finish line too. In itself not a bad challenge, but the run off is into chunky gravel and pretty certain disaster if you need to ride into it. I would recommend they fringe it with some safer rideable edges. Like they have at Lee Valley.

I arrive in good time, register and pin up and get a good 20 minutes easy rollering in. Mostly to wake the driving legs up. It’s warm with a light breeze for the first race. This would be a double race event. Each half-hour race, half an hour apart. I have brief chats with CC Luton’s Matt who I met at the Ashwell chaingang a few weeks ago. And I get to congratulate Valentino on his great 6th place at last weekend’s Hog Hill race. I twiddle away in the car park whilst watching the 60+ age category race and hope I’ll be as fit and fast as those guys one day in the future.

We set off on a neutralised lap. We’re going clockwise. I hear later that British Cycling won’t approve the course to go anti-clockwise. But can’t work out why. Going clockwise means hitting the chicane hard near the finish line and adds considerable drama.

We glide over the start line, the flag goes and we’re off and full gas. As I’ve literally never raced a millimetre of the nice tarmac, I choose to tuck inside the bunch for the first few laps to try and figure out the best lines. It’s a northerly wind and I get into a gliding rhythm of drifting from one side of the bunch line to the other in search of shade from the breeze. At times, the bunch seem indifferent to the optimal protection from the wind, which is good news to me. I find out that the first left bend is too tricky to try and jump on the inside. It’s too tight and you lose all your speed. The far bend that brings on the return leg is gentle and swooping and quite easy to find the right line except for when you get over the rise where you need to be careful not to clip off the left edge of the track. There’s a significant drop in height to the left. If you come off the track here, it would be interesting to see if you could claw back on OK.

The return leg of the lap is gentle in curve. This will most often be a headwind and possibly where a break would most commonly be made or consolidated.

Then, turning to the lap start/finish, there’s a chicane. If you’re not being observant, it will catch you out and you’re off into the heavy gravel stuff. Past here and it’s a dash to the line. Really short.

After a short while I’m conscious of the burn I’m making being at the back. Too much braking and surging. Wasted watts. I try and climb higher into the bunch and have an easier time. I notice many riders are not carrying a bottle but I do - to keep the airways clear and cool and to swig and signal when you want to communicate you’re not going to push hard on the front.

There are some great riders in the mix and I am aware my chances of any success lies in keeping it a bunch and going long at the end. There are some brave moves at a breakaway. But everyone is too fresh to let anything go. Having said that, in to the last lap and one rider has a certain gap while we others chase down the rest of the places. I have a good go at things with half a lap to go and find myself in a decent position where there’s good momentum. It seems it won’t be a slow - then manic surging - finish. My least favourite race finish. We swoop the final corner and everyone is pretty locked into their position. I have a clean run in and am happy to come in 10th, 4th in Age Category (B, 45-49).

We clear the course, there’s a bit of banter and I make my way back to the rollers for 10 minutes to keep the legs turning ahead of race 2. It’s now hotter. The bike computer is saying 26 degrees, with heat bouncing off the tarmac. It’s also significantly windier.

Fresh energy drink. Another gel. A little chewy bar. An apple. We’re off into race 2. I can feel the lack of freshness this time but also know that others will feel it too. It’s a relaxed start and one guy goes rogue over the chicane and cuts across the course, to prove his cyclo-cross skills and maybe to make a point on this pokey-out bit. Laughter over, it dials up. Soon, it’s hot wattage again. I feel like I’m in the Ashwell chaingang, “lap 3”, where it’s biting but doable. I can feel we’re dropping riders here and soon start to see some on the opposing part of the track. But I’m doing OK and enjoying learning the curves. At one point I see Valentino and a few others consolidate a break and think that looks good. I breathe in a make a burst over to them. I’m pleased to have made the leap. Unfortunately, my effort wasn’t quite a clean break and I pull the bunch with me too much. But, I’m pleased to have been able to apply this effort without too much trouble.

Fresh legs. My strategy to get to today with fresh legs looked like this:

Sunday, hard short Zwift crit, full beans for 22 mins.

Monday, easy 2.5hrs road ride

Tuesday, hard Ashwell chaingang, 1 hr 15 mins

Wednesday, hard Ashwell 10m TT, 23 mins 40 secs.

Thursday, nothing really. Home-made 40 mins HIT gym session, + 5k light run.

Friday, 20 miles easy morning tailwind ride. Was thinking about a Zwift crit too, but exhausted by a stressful day at work.

Saturday, nothing. Sports physio in the afternoon.

Sunday, racin’. 48hrs of fresh legs.

I enjoy the level-headedness of my co-riders. No stoopid moves. Though one rider does lurch to the left and I have to be evasive to avoid getting chopped. A Rapha CC rider observes this and raises his eyebrows at me and laughs, while I roll my eyes invisibly from behind my fancy new shades. Drama - but no drama - sort of thing. Grown ups.

OK. Last few laps. I don’t quite know how, but I read the lap counter wrong. On reflection, I may have read “3 laps to go” as the sign was being put out - not to announce it was actually “3 laps to go”. Anyway, for whatever reason, when I see the Colourtech rider, followed by the nippy Stow CC rider ping off the front with what I think is the final lap, I go with. I cross the line and hear the bell and don’t see the chequered flag. Oops. Racing is planning and opportunism. What to do now? Without much thought, I figure, I may as well give it full beans and see what happens. There are no points to score this season. Colourtech chap is significantly ahead and not interested in teaming up. Stow CC fella is burning up fast and I’m catching him. But I’m frazzling quickly too. The bunch are around 8-10 bike lengths behind. Into the headwind and I can see and feel this is a desperate attempt to beat the bunch. They are not relenting and I am dipping below 25mph. This is hopeless.

Stow elbows me to take the front but my help is feeble. Into the final big bend and I can hear the wheels of the bunch. I’m pedalling squares in the final short sprint and swamped. 11th, 4th in Age Category again (B, 45-49). Ah well. I had a go. This might have worked if I had been allowed to escape with half a lap to go. Something to think about for another time. It was good to pressure the bunch and I will think about such a move again in the future. I need to use my TT more in races.

Race over. We’re all done. I say bye to Mark, Valentino and several other of my competitors for the day and get home without fuss. I think about a celebratory McDonalds from the one opposite the park, but the 40 car queue puts me right off an it’s a bobbins Wild Bean Cafe BP garage americano and a banana and clementine from my food bag instead.

I look forward to more adventures here and more BMCR racing too.

Strava links: https://www.strava.com/activities/5266417763 https://www.strava.com/activities/5266971821

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auburnfamilynews · 5 years

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November. It’s a month that sends shivers up the spine of any College Football fan. It’s a month that defines years in ones life. 1996? A miserable year. 1997? The way God intended a year to be. 2014? None of that sir. 2017? All that and twice on Sundays please. November is all of 10 days old and there are some teams that want to have a do-over already. “Who are they?”, you ask dear reader. Well pull up a cha…oh you’re already sitting. Well, sit back and enjoy this week’s BOOM! Roasted!

WILLIE CHAD MORRIS WATCH 2019

Arkansas has had a rough go of it for the past…well for a good while now. Member when BERT had them humming? Don’t worry, their fans don’t either. But Chad Morris came in two years ago with the promise of a HUNH offense that worked (sorta) at SMU and definitely did at Clemson. Well, the rebuild had the look of the movie The Money Pit. Everyone always saying, “It’ll take two more weeks.” More like two more years. We all got to see what I’m talking about a couple of weeks ago when the Auburn offense exploded on the Hogs for 51 points while the defense didn’t give up a point until its was second and third teamers against the Hogs’ ones in the second half. Well this week Arkansas hosted Western Kentucky for Senior Day. And the fan base came out in their finest

And boy did they sure show up for the contest too!

Wow, here's a photo of Razorback Stadium in the first quarter of the Arkansas- Western Kentucky game. Photo compliments of David Bazzel. pic.twitter.com/4kqlyHxkjy

— Randy Stowe (@rstowe1225) November 9, 2019

Well that doesn’t bode well for this watch to last long. As for the game?

This is the kind of day Arkansas is having. Western Kentucky's kicker did this! pic.twitter.com/x1IR60Up5h

— Max Olson (@max_olson) November 9, 2019

Oh good Lord…

The rest of the game didn’t turn out any better as the final gun would sound

Arkansas falls to Western Kentucky 45-19 on Senior Day. pic.twitter.com/0vxUvPhpiq

— THV11 (@THV11) November 9, 2019

Is it just me, or when you see it like that does it make it look even worse? I mean it’s bad, but that way make it even worse right? Well it wouldn’t take long, as one would expect, making this the shortest watch in the history of the Roasted.

Wins under Chad Morris: Eastern Illinois, Tulsa, Portland St. and Colorado St. Losses: Colorado St., North Texas, San Jose St., Western Kentucky AND every SEC game. What a strange year and a half for Arkansas football. https://t.co/MQKJROaaKl

— Jim Joyner (@jimthejam) November 10, 2019

So now we have FSU and Arkansas open for jobs and now the fun really begins as the rumor mill starts in full tilt!

“We’ve already crossed off Urban Meyer; we’ve already crossed off Bob Stoops. Today’s story — which is utterly ridiculous — is they are trying to reach out to Nick Saban to be the next coach at Florida State. The FSU coaching search is already off the rails.”—@ClayTravis pic.twitter.com/BloE3M0XgE

— Outkick the Coverage (@Outkick) November 7, 2019

Yup, coaching moves this year are gonna be stupid.

HAVE A GLASS OF WATER BIG FOURTEEN TEN, YOU’RE DRUNK

So, I sorta shorted you guys last week when I only did two games last week cause I couldn’t find another Boys II Men song that worked for me so I will make up for it here. First off, Michigan State is always known for a stingy defense and a coupe of guys they put out on offense and they sometimes score points, but not often. Well this week they hosted Illinois in East Lansing and it looked to be an easy day for the home team.

Michigan State has scored more points in 17+ minutes vs. Illinois (21) than it did the entire month of October (17). Spartans lead Illinois 21-3 early in the 2Q. pic.twitter.com/lYr16EmPrI

— Chris “Mack” Mackinder (@Chris_Mackinder) November 9, 2019

See what I mean about that scoring thing? Well they would hold a 28-3 lead over the Illini until the last play of the 2nd quarter.

HOW DID BRANDON PETERS PULL THIS OFF? He nearly fumbles before delivering a 47-yard TD strike to @JoshBhebhe to close the @IlliniFootball half: pic.twitter.com/2KZnAVHl0o

— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) November 9, 2019

Ok, so that’s unfortunate but Sparty would add a field goal to make it 31-10 as we entered the 4th quarter of play. Layup win right?

Well…

Michigan State was up 21 on Illinois in the fourth quarter. What a wild day in East Lansing. pic.twitter.com/Tbxxb7iuZo

— Brad Galli (@BradGalli) November 10, 2019

Not good.

UNBELIEVABLE! @IlliniFootball comes back from 25 down to seal the largest comeback in school history. Oh, and they're going bowling. pic.twitter.com/Fp2VhUAPtQ

— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) November 10, 2019

Oofa…

pic.twitter.com/4sHI4YIL4k

— no context college football (@nocontextcfb) November 10, 2019

Yeah, that’s…wow…

Also, it makes Illinois bowl eligible. It leaves Michigan State unable to make plans yet for after November.

And the worst part, this was at home. I am a Falcons fan (I know I enjoy pain but at least we beat the Aints) so I can commiserate with Sparty here but….damn dude, at least we did that to a good team, you did that to Illinois.

In the other half of the fun in the B1G, Minnesota played their first significant game since Roosevelt was in office against Penn State this weekend and the Gophers brought out the big guns to rattle the Nits.

Minnesota put a Gopher on the scoreboard during Penn State's FG attempt pic.twitter.com/EPo9MZQTgH

— SI College Football (@si_ncaafb) November 9, 2019

Well played Minnesota, well played.

As for the game, man was it fun. Back and forth battle where defense was optional but still had some great defensive plays sprinkled in. In the end, this would happen.

And with that, No. 17 Minnesota takes down No. 4 Penn State (via @GopherFootball) pic.twitter.com/lrLHi693MN

— SI College Football (@si_ncaafb) November 9, 2019

Which directly led to this

Absolute SCENES in Minnesota as the No.17 Gophers upset No.4 Penn State. ( : @theothermegryan) pic.twitter.com/9UUHo0EPDs

— theScore (@theScore) November 9, 2019

Good for Goldy, they were starved for a big victory since the last one they really had was Glenn Mason telling Georgia nevermind back after they fired Ray Goff. (YEAH TAKE THAT GEORGIA! A MINNESOTA COACH TOLD YOU NO!! HATE WEEK STRONG BABY!)

LAST ONE FOR THE ROAD

Pac-12 suspends referee 1 game for mistakenly accessing a hands to face penalty on Washington State player instead of Cal player, who committed penalty in WSU-Cal game Saturday. Remainder of officiating crew “downgraded” according to league office

— Brett McMurphy (@Brett_McMurphy) November 11, 2019

SEC fans like to think we have the worst officials on the planet but apparently the PAC-12 asks for volunteers at that booth beside the Credit Card signup station before you enter the stadium. This is the 3rd...THIRD!...instance of the PAC-12 suspending one or a group of refs for making an egregious error during a game.

This is play incorrectly called against @WSUCougarFB’s @hd42___. It was 20-11 Cal at this point. Call resulted in a 59 yard swing against WSU. No one is suggesting the result changes on this call, but it’s another example of the ineptness of @pac12 officials. #GoCougs https://t.co/QzkluqKeQu pic.twitter.com/JO48mUjCpg

— Derek Deis (@DerekKXLY) November 10, 2019

I know its kind of hard to tell from the video but I can tell that only one helmet shot back. Man, I know the gonja is legal out there and all but there ain’t no dang sense in the refs gettin’ in to it in the pregame WEST COAST PAWL!

NOTHING ELSE HAPPENED THIS WEEKEND AND YOU SHOULDN’T SCROLL DOWN ANY FARTHER

I'm happy to bring you the content you didn't know you needed, but love to have. #LSUrep #sadfansaresad pic.twitter.com/IZyFH05CCh

— Michael Cauble (@Cauble) November 10, 2019

Aw, I told you not to! You….you guys….

from College and Magnolia - All Posts https://www.collegeandmagnolia.com/2019/11/11/20958556/boom-roasted-week-11

#IFTTT #Blogger #auburn #auburn fast #wareagle #AuburnFamilyNews #war eagle #sec #football news #aubu

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oovitus · 6 years

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How I quit weekend overeating. 5 surprising strategies that helped me ditch the bingeing, the guilt, and the extra weight.

In my world, weekend overeating (and over-boozing) was ‘just what people did.’ It felt good to let loose… until I got sick of the regret, guilt, bloating, and extra pounds. That’s when I discovered the surprising *real* reason behind my Friday-to-Sunday gorging. Here are the 5 strategies I used to ditch the habit (and the weight) for good.

+++

I used to overeat like a boss.

True story.

Sure, I was “good” all week.

But weekend overeating? That was my jam.

Every Friday around 5pm, as I waited for the bus after work, I’d start to salivate. The end of the work week meant red wine, pizza, a giant bag of chips, and bad movies. It was a Friday ritual.

Sometimes I’d call my husband while waiting. What should we get on the pizza? They do that really good pesto sauce with goat cheese. What about extra sausage?

Friday night, when I got to eat whatever I wanted, was the highlight of my week.

My job was stressful. The commute was long. Coming home, dumping my stuff, and crushing some fast food and booze was my way of unwinding.

However…

Friday became a gateway drug to the rest of the weekend.

I ate big breakfasts on Saturdays before I went to the gym, and big lunches afterwards. I went out on Saturday nights for drinks and a heavy meal. Or stayed home for more takeout and movies on the couch.

Then came Sunday brunches, of course. And picking up some of those amazing cookies at that little coffee shop on Sunday walks. And, naturally, you close weekends with a big Sunday roast… because it’s Sunday.

Because it’s Friday. Because it’s Saturday. Because it’s Sunday.

Which bled into: Because it’s Thursday night. Technically close enough to Friday. Friday-adjacent, and good enough.

In my head, the weekend was a time where “normal rules” didn’t apply. It was a time to relax, put my feet up, and let the soothing crunching and chewing take me away.

I’m not talking about compulsive bingeing here. That’s where you have episodes of eating without thinking, almost like you’re on autopilot.

(People with binge eating disorder feel disassociated while overeating and that can be hard to break without help from a doctor or therapist.)

But for me, it wasn’t that. Rather, mine was the kind of overeating where you’re all-in: a convenient, stress-fueled, often social, habit.

My social circle was happy to support it. I had binge buddies and pizza pals. As far as I was concerned, going hog wild was just what people did on weekends.

Looking back, I also know that in the face of a stressful job and overwhelming responsibilities my overeating ritual made me feel sane and human.

After a while, though, weekend overeating started to suck.

As every overeater knows, the joy of runaway indulgence comes with consequences.

You feel physically uncomfortable, bloated, perhaps even sick to your stomach. Mentally, you feel crappy. Guilty. Regretful. Maybe angry at yourself. Or just angry in general.

And while weight fluctuation is inevitable when you’re trying to get in shape, if you want to stay healthy and fit, or make fitness and health a permanent part of your lifestyle, then weekend overeating can sabotage your goals.

Aside from the obvious extra body fat or stalled performance, there’s other unwanted stuff.

Like your joints hurt because of inflammation from last night’s junk food. Or you’re too full to run properly. Or you lie awake in bed with meat sweats, huffing in small breaths around the food-baby in your belly.

Yet the cycle can be hard to break.

I tried to get it under control.

I started cutting deals with myself, such as, if it’s “real food” then it’s okay to overeat. (Cue jars of almond butter, spinach pizzas, and all-you-can-eat sushi.)

During the week, I trained harder. Ate less. Tracked low and high calories in a spreadsheet. But every starvation attempt was inevitably followed by an even bigger blowout on the weekend.

The cycle continued; my health and fitness goals remained elusive.

Then I made a surprising discovery.

How did I finally break free of my weekend overeating cycle?

Maybe not how you think.

I didn’t use “one weird trick”, or biological manipulation, or reverse psychology.

With some help from a nutrition coach, I realized that my eating habits on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday weren’t the only challenge. There were some questionable weekday habits, too. Habits that were perhaps even more crucial to the whole picture.

Once I identified my work-week eating patterns, and how they were affecting my weekend behavior, I developed a healthier relationship with food… and myself.

Here are the 5 strategies that helped me turn things around.

Strategy #1: I aimed for “good enough” instead of “perfect”.

I’ve seen it in so many Precision Nutrition Coaching clients.

They want to follow the “perfect” diet.

So they adhere to strict meal plans (to the last measured teaspoon) Monday to Friday. And, the whole week, they worry incessantly about screwing things up.

By the weekend, though, the willpower gives out. They’re so sick of restrictive eating and can’t wait to eat food they actually enjoy. Bring on the weekend binge!

For most of them, there are only two options: perfect or crap.

So the logic follows:

“It’s Saturday, I’m out to lunch with my family, and I can’t have my perfect pre-portioned kale salad like I usually do, so instead I’ll just overeat a giant bacon cheeseburger and a huge heap of fries.”

If you take “perfect” off the table, things change. You feel empowered because there are now other options. Instead of kale salad vs. five servings of fries, there’s:

“I’m actually in the mood for a salad with my burger because I had fries at that work lunch on Thursday.”

Therefore, my solution: Always aim for “good enough”.

Throughout the work week and the weekend, I started to consider my health and fitness goals, what I was in the mood for, what was available, etc. I came up with a definition of “good enough”, and aimed for that.

Remember: The decent method you follow is better than the “perfect” one you quit.

Strategy #2: I let go of my food rules.

If perfectionism is the Wicked Witch of overeating, then food rules are the flying monkeys.

Food rules tell you:

what you can and can’t eat,

when you can or can’t eat it,

how you can or can’t eat it, and/or

how much you can or can’t have.

Spreadsheet time!

These rules take up an awful lot of mental real estate. They also set you up for disinhibition… aka “the Screw It Effect”.

Here’s how the Screw It Effect works.

Let’s say your #1 food rule is Don’t Eat Carbs. No croutons on the salad; won’t touch a sandwich; no potatoes with your omelet. Thanks.

But this Friday night, you find yourself out with friends, and everyone’s having beer and pizza. You hold out for a bit. Finally, you give in and grab a slice.

That means screw it, you’ve “blown your diet”, so you might as well keep eating. Cue the binge and uncomfortable after effects.

Of course, if you have one food rule, you probably have several. That means there are lots of ways to “mess up” (and disinhibit). Maybe all night. Maybe all weekend.

Eating by the rules almost always leads to overeating crap, because once you deviate, there’s nothing left to guide you.

My solution: I ditched the rules and let hunger be my guide.

Non-dieters (or so-called “normal eaters”) eat when they’re physically hungry and stop when they’re physically full, no matter if it’s Wednesday or Saturday, morning or evening, work lunch or happy hour.

Start by paying attention to your own food rules and responses.

When, where, and how are you likely to say, “Screw it?” What might happen if you let go of that rule and really tuned in to your physical hunger and fullness cues instead?

Strategy #3: I gave up on “Cheat Days”.

Monday through Saturday is all about being faithful to your diet. But Sunday… That’s Cheat Day.

Oh, Cheat Day. The happiest day of your week.

You wake up on Cheat Day morning like a kid at Christmas. Go hog wild all day long, eating all the stuff you didn’t permit yourself during the week.

As evening nears, you start to freak out. So you eat (and maybe drink) even more. Because tomorrow, it’s back to reality. Back to fidelity and compliance. And no fun.

Sure, some people find the idea of a weekly Cheat Day useful both mentally and physically. If this is you, and it works for you, then by all means continue.

But for most of the people I’ve coached, having one Cheat Day means the rest of the week is food purgatory.

My solution: I quit the Cheat Day routine, and gave myself permission to choose what I wanted all week long.

Like the Screw It Effect, Cheat Day depends on scarcity.

Scarcity makes us feel anxious, needy, and greedy. The counter to a scarcity mindset? Abundance.

For you and most people around you, food is abundant — not something to be hoarded or feared. (If that’s true in your life, be grateful. It’s a privilege.)

You don’t need to “cheat” because there’s nothing, and no one, to “cheat” on. Maybe you enjoy some dessert on a Tuesday night because you’re in the mood for it, or maybe you don’t because you’re satisfied from dinner.

What and when you eat is up to you — and your hunger and fullness cues. No matter what day of the week it is.

Strategy #4: I owned my choices (Really. Owned them.)

Do you ever barter with yourself? Make deals, trades or swaps related to food?

“Okay, self, I’ll turn down dessert today… but I’m gonna collect on the weekend and you better pony up the whole damn pie.”

In this mindset, one “good deed” gives you license to “sin” elsewhere. These trades rarely pay off — they usually just amount to a lot of mental gymnastics that help you avoid making tough decisions and help you justify overeating.

Look, we’re all adults here. Trading off “good” and “bad” is for little kids and convicts. There is no “good” and “bad”. There’s no prison warden holding the keys.

Mind games like this undermine your health goals — and your authority over your decisions.

My solution: I started owning my choices, and letting my adult values and deeper principles guide me when I sat down to eat.

I started making food decisions by acknowledging the outcome I would expect, based on my experience. For example:

“I’m choosing to eat this tub of ice cream on Saturday night. I’ll probably feel nauseated and anxious afterwards. In this instance, I’m fine with it.”

In the end, own your choices: Don’t moralize them. You’re free to eat and drink anything you want. You choose your behavior.

Just remember that different choices produce different outcomes.

It’s your call.

Strategy #5: I stopped rationalizing.

Weekends present all sorts of comfortable justifications for eating a bunch of non-nutritious foods.

It could be anything:

You were busy. Or maybe you had nothing going on.

You were traveling. Or maybe you were at home.

You had to work. Or you had no work to do.

You had family/social meals. Or maybe you ate alone.

Any excuse will do. Powerless victim of circumstance!

But busyness, boredom, travel, work, or family dinners don’t inherently cause overeating. People eat or drink too much in lots of different situations. Their explanation simply matches whatever happens to be going on at the time.

Rationalizations are a convenient script. They help us make sense of — and perpetuate — our overeating or other unhelpful behaviors.

My solution: I stopped rationalizing and asked myself why I was really overeating.

Sometimes, you’ll want to eat crap. And too much of it. That’s normal.

But instead of falling back on the tired victim-of-circumstance narrative, take the opportunity to ask yourself what’s really going on.

Are you bored? Stressed? Sad? Happy?

Do this over and over and over, and you’ll start to see some patterns. That’s your pot of gold. That’s your opportunity to change overeating behavior — and do something else to address those emotions instead of bingeing.

What to do next: Some tips from Precision Nutrition.

There is no “perfect time” to eat better. Not tomorrow; not on Monday. Life is always a little nuts.

All we can do is our best with what we’ve got. Right here, right now.

Here’s where to start.

Ask yourself: How’s that weekend overeating working for you?

If you’re loving your Cheat Day, Friday junk-food bonanzas, or gut-punching Sunday brunches, and you’re happy with the results, keep doing it.

But if you’re conflicted, it could be time to investigate further. Ask yourself: What does weekend overeating do for you? What is it a path to? What does it enable you to get or feel? How does it solve a problem or have a purpose for you?

In my case, weekend overeating was self-medication for stress, stimulation and novelty, and a way to connect with other people.

To rearrange your mindset and break the cycle of weekend overeating, try:

aiming for “good enough” instead of “perfect”,

letting go of your food rules,

giving up the Cheat Days,

owning your choices, and/or

quitting the rationalizations.

If you feel urgency or compulsion when you overeat, consider talking to your doctor or a trained professional about binge eating disorder.

Apply the Precision Nutrition “clean slate” method.

In Precision Nutrition Coaching, the clean slate approach means that after any and every “screw-up”, you get to start fresh.

Overate Friday night? No problem, wake up Saturday morning and start again. Don’t try to compensate. Just get on with things as normal.

You don’t “pay back” the damage in the gym, nor do you kamikaze your way through a jar of peanut butter. You just pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and go back to doing your best.

Put someone else in control for a while.

Yes, you are the boss of you, and you should own your choices. But changing a deep-seated habit — even one that on the surface may seem silly and harmless, like overeating on the weekend — is challenging. Really challenging.

And just like weight loss, the process of changing your habits will have ups and downs. It helps to team up with someone who will support and encourage you.

Find a friend, a partner, a trainer, or a coach, who will listen to you and keep you accountable. For many clients, relinquishing control is a choice they’re glad to own.

If you’re a coach, or you want to be…

Learning how to coach clients, patients, friends, or family members through healthy eating and lifestyle changes (including how to manage energy balance) — in a way that supports long-term progress — is both an art and a science.

If you’d like to learn more about both, consider the Precision Nutrition Level 1 Certification. The next group kicks off shortly.

What’s it all about?

The Precision Nutrition Level 1 Certification is the world’s most respected nutrition education program. It gives you the knowledge, systems, and tools you need to really understand how food influences a person’s health and fitness. Plus the ability to turn that knowledge into a thriving coaching practice.

Developed over 15 years, and proven with nearly 100,000 clients and patients, the Level 1 curriculum stands alone as the authority on the science of nutrition and the art of coaching.

Whether you’re already mid-career, or just starting out, the Level 1 Certification is your springboard to a deeper understanding of nutrition, the authority to coach it, and the ability to turn what you know into results.

[Of course, if you’re already a student or graduate of the Level 1 Certification, check out our Level 2 Certification Master Class. It’s an exclusive, year-long mentorship designed for elite professionals looking to master the art of coaching and be part of the top 1% of health and fitness coaches in the world.]

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We’ll be opening up spots in our next Precision Nutrition Level 1 Certification on Wednesday, October 3rd, 2018.

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Sign up 24 hours before the general public and increase your chances of getting a spot. We only open the certification program twice per year. Due to high demand, spots in the program are limited and have historically sold out in a matter of hours. But when you sign up for the presale list, we’ll give you the opportunity to register a full 24 hours before anyone else.

If you’re ready for a deeper understanding of nutrition, the authority to coach it, and the ability to turn what you know into results… this is your chance to see what the world’s top professional nutrition coaching system can do for you.

The post How I quit weekend overeating. 5 surprising strategies that helped me ditch the bingeing, the guilt, and the extra weight. appeared first on Precision Nutrition.

How I quit weekend overeating. 5 surprising strategies that helped me ditch the bingeing, the guilt, and the extra weight. published first on

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melindarowens · 7 years

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The Fed Hikes Rates, But What’s Next? – Daily Pfennig

Chuck Butler’s: A Pfennig For Your Thoughts

December 18, 2017

* Was Yellen holding something back?

* Kiwi begins to rally

* A possible volatile week?

Good Day… And a Marvelous Monday to you! Well, a lot has happened since I last talked to you (last Wednesday)… I had a return of the pain this past weekend, which was a wake up call to me, to slow down… It’s been 4 weeks on the antibiotics and I would have thought by now, they would have wiped out the infection, but I guess not! Christmas is in the single digits of days away now. The month sure has flown by, which is a good thing, given that it gets me closer to my winter vacation, and… my annual trek to S. Florida for the winter… The great Dionne Warwick greets me this morning with her song: Walk On By…

Well, the Fed did hike rates last Wednesday… The Fed Funds rate is now a whopping 1.5%! I had a dear reader send me a note the other day, asking me if the Fed was just hiking rates so they had rates to cut when the recession hits… This is a thought that my longtime friend John Mauldin first talked about when the Fed began hiking rates two years ago… This whole idea of having arrows in one’s quiver for a rainy day, is just weird to me, and reminds me that the Fed Funds rate is just a rate that is arrived at because the Fed Clique says so.. It’s a willy nilly rate, that would be far better arrived at if this rate setting ability was stripped from the Fed and given to the markets…

Janet Yellen’s press conference following the rate announcement last week, was a non-event… She did indicate that 3 more rate hikes are on the docket for 2018, but failed to mention that she will not be at the helm in 2018 past February, and therefore there are questions about those 3 rate hikes in 2018…The Fed could very well ignore another inflation shortfall in 2018 and keep the projection of three rate hikes. As long as they can continue to explain inflation weakness as temporary and continue the rhetoric that they see an inflation “down the road”.

I really don’t think that will end up being the Fed’s concern in 2018, the lack of inflation, that is… Wage inflation is about to go hog wild in my humble opinion, which could be wrong of course, but it’s what I’m seeing and hearing…

So, the dollar should have taken off for higher ground on Wednesday after the rate hike, right? Well, not if you were paying attention in class last Wednesday when I said that the rate hike had all been priced in, and the only thing that would give the dollar some love is a hawkish press conference, and that really didn’t happen, as Janet Yellen sounded as if she was “holding back” her thoughts…

The dollar, got sold on Wednesday afternoon and into Thursday, but by Friday the selling had dissipated, and we were back to range trading in the currencies. The euro found its way to the 1.18 handle again, only to lose in profit taking on Friday, and a negative reaction to the European Central Bank’s (ECB) meeting on Thursday morning, when ECB President, Mario Draghi, told the markets that while the ECB may be unwinding its balance sheet, it reserves the right to stop the unwinding and begin adding to the balance sheet again, should the economy stumble.

That gave mixed messages to the markets and euro traders, and traders don’t like mixed messages, and brought the euro back below 1.18, where it trades this morning. I guess Draghi had to say what he had to say, to be fair and balanced, but there comes a time that one has to make a stand… When will that come for Draghi? I don’t know the answer to that, but when it does happen, that’s when the euro will once again establish its ability to gain VS the dollar. Again, that’s my opinion, and I could be wrong…

The New Zealand dollar / kiwi is the star performer of the past couple of trading sessions, as the currency has risen above the 70-cents handle. The Aussie dollar (A$) couldn’t gain any traction from the Reserve Bank of Australia’s (RBA) meeting last week, but kiwi sure has found some terra firma… As we close in on 2018, traders are reminded that this is the year that the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) targeted for their first rate hikes in a few years…

Gold’s two-day rally came to a halt on Friday, as the shiny metal lost a whopping $2 and change… Gold is up over $4 in early trading this morning, but the “boys in the band” haven’t arrived at their desks yet today… Historically (since I’ve followed the currencies and metals) this week before Christmas can prove to be quite volatile, as the senior traders have all headed to their homes in Tennessee for some homemade pumpkin pie! HA! So, be aware of that…

The U.S. Data Cupboard was busy last week, with PPI, the stupid CPI, Industrial Production and so on… The indication I got from the data last week was that the economy is still muddling through… For instance, Industrial Production last month was only 0.2%, when it was projected to be 0.4%… Capacity Utilization showed no gains and PPI (wholesale inflation) was much stronger at 0.4% for the month… Wholesale Inflation feeds into consumer inflation folks… So, it’s coming… can you feel it?

This week’s Data Cupboard will also be busy, with the first part of the week printing Housing data, and the end of the week, when no one will be around in the markets, and I’ll be on my winter vacation, we’ll see a piece of real economic data when Nov. Durable Goods and Capital Goods orders print…

To recap… The Fed did hike rates last week, but the dollar received no love for the move, as the rate hike was already priced in. Janet Yellen’s press conference was a non-event, which Chuck thought was strange, and that she appeared to be holding back her thoughts… Gold’s two-day rally ended on Friday, but it has picked it back up in the early morning trading today, and kiwi is the star performer of the past few trading sessions…

For What It’s Worth… I’ve talked about this consumer indebtedness until I’m blue in the face and that’s not a good look for me! But when CBS News picks up on it, then the mainstream media is beginning to take notice… So, this article can be found here: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/the-united-states-of-indebted-america/

Or, here’s your snippet:”By many measures, the American economy is booming. Yet that’s not always translating into stronger financial health for a large share of US consumers.

One-third of Americans are weighed down by overdue debt, meaning their outstanding payments are in arrears and have been handed off to debt collectors, according to new research from The Urban Institute. That’s not a healthy situation for households because overdue debt can lower one’s credit score, making it harder to finance purchases such as a home or car while also making it more expensive to borrow money.

The problem is worse in some regions of the country, especially those where health insurance coverage is sparser, incomes are lower and the share of nonwhite households is higher, according to the Urban Institute’s data. Almost one in five households have medical debt in collections, a sign of how many Americans struggle with the cost of health care, including those insurance.

That’s not only a personal challenge but a community issue because those indebted households may struggle to pay their property taxes or rent on time.”

Chuck again… Yes, as I’ve been saying, for months now, the U.S. consumer is in debt up to their eyeballs, and they just keep taking on more… Ugh!

Currencies today 12/18/17… American Style: A$ .7662, kiwi .7006, C$ .7767, euro 1.1791, sterling 1.3360, Swiss $ 1.0120, … European Style: rand 12.8495, krone 8.3557, SEK 8.4522, forint 265.93, zloty 3.5685, koruna 21.79, RUB 58.80, yen 112.53, sing 1.3483, HKD 7.8168, INR 64.12, China 6.6097, peso 19.06, BRL 3.2934, Dollar Index 93.69, Oil $57.53, 10yr 2.38%, Silver $16.14, Platinum $900.60, Palladium $1,016.94, and Gold… $1,261.70

That’s it for today… Yesterday was a former colleague and good friend’s birthday… Happy Birthday Jen! And Ty Keough also celebrated a birthday this past weekend! Thursday night, good friend Mike Kettler brought me my dinner (gumbo, that was yummy!) and Saturday, oldest son, Andrew brought me lunch… I ventured out for a short trip yesterday.. Very adventurous! HA! Alrighty then… Tradition holds that I start my winter vacation on the 17th.. But since I’ve missed so much time recently, I decided to cut back on that time away, by starting my vacation on Thursday this week… So, you get me for two more days! HA! Alrighty then I’ve got things to do this morning before the visiting nurse shows up… Ambrosia takes us to the finish line today with their song: How Much I Feel… ( this song was popular when we lived in Des Moines, Iowa) I hope you have a Marvelous Monday, and Be Good To Yourself!

Chuck Butler

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source https://capitalisthq.com/the-fed-hikes-rates-but-whats-next-daily-pfennig/ from CapitalistHQ http://capitalisthq.blogspot.com/2017/12/the-fed-hikes-rates-but-whats-next.html

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everettwilkinson · 7 years

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The Fed Hikes Rates, But What’s Next? – Daily Pfennig

Chuck Butler’s: A Pfennig For Your Thoughts

December 18, 2017

* Was Yellen holding something back?

* Kiwi begins to rally

* A possible volatile week?

Or, here’s your snippet:”By many measures, the American economy is booming. Yet that’s not always translating into stronger financial health for a large share of US consumers.

That’s not only a personal challenge but a community issue because those indebted households may struggle to pay their property taxes or rent on time.”

Chuck again… Yes, as I’ve been saying, for months now, the U.S. consumer is in debt up to their eyeballs, and they just keep taking on more… Ugh!

Chuck Butler

Source link

from CapitalistHQ.com https://capitalisthq.com/the-fed-hikes-rates-but-whats-next-daily-pfennig/

#TrumpNews #CapitalistHQ.com

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junker-town · 7 years

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Former 5-star recruit Byron Cowart transferring from Auburn football

The Crootletter breaks down college football with a recruiting slant.

Tuesday, news broke that former five-star recruit Byron Cowart is leaving the Auburn program.

Former No. 1 overall prospect, defensive tackle Byron Cowart, is leaving the Auburn program.

— Derek Tyson (@DerekJTyson) September 19, 2017

Cowart, out of Seffner (Fla.) Armwood, was an incredible physical specimen in high school. He looked like he was a decade older than some of his high school teammates. And while he always seemed to physically look better than he played, he was still a really good player, and coveted by all of the major programs in the Southeast. Cowart ultimately picked Auburn over Florida, with the word being that Will Muschamp, then the defensive coordinator at Auburn, formerly the head coach of Florida, being the deciding relationship factor.

I’m not sure why Cowart did not work out at Auburn, but he was never able to make an impact, though injuries and coaching changes likely played a factor. He was pleasant to deal with on the recruiting trail, and I wish him well. Perhaps a change of scenery will help.

Auburn’s defensive line remains nasty as ever,

Penn State has momentum

Recruiting in September has been extremely slow. With few recruits traditionally taking big visits in this time, and three of the four most talented recruiting states (Florida, Texas, and Georgia) being significantly impacted by Hurricanes Harvey and Irma, it has slowed down even more. Only three four-star prospects have committed this month.

But things are looking pretty good for Penn State, both on the field and off. PSU site Black Shoe Diaries profiles how the Nittany Lions could be in great shape to beat out Ohio State for two defensive linemen: five-star Micah Parsons, a former PSU commit, and four-star Tyreke Smith.

The last time Penn State beat out Ohio State for an Ohio kid? A very long time. If Smith does spurn Urban Meyer for James Franklin, it would unequivocally be Franklin’s most impressive recruiting victory, bar none. Going into Ohio and taking a top three prospect in the state — that’s recruiting at an elite level.

Smith will take his time, though. He’s set up a ridiculous visit schedule for this fall — seeing USC this past weekend, Alabama in October, Penn State for the Michigan game (unofficial visit), Ohio State for the Penn State game, Oregon in late November, and then back to Happy Valley for his final official visit on December 8th.The last time Penn State beat out Ohio State for an Ohio kid? A very long time. If Smith does spurn Urban Meyer for James Franklin, it would unequivocally be Franklin’s most impressive recruiting victory, bar none. Going into Ohio and taking a top three prospect in the state — that’s recruiting at an elite level.

Penn State currently has the No. 3 class in the country on the 247Sports Composite, with 23 commitments and 13 four- or five-star prospects. The Nittany Lions are the team that has improved its talent the most over the last four recruiting classes, per my Blue-Chip Ratio measure.

Recruiting failures lead to on-field failures

Arkansas site Arkansas Fight does a great job of breaking down how Arkansas’ failures in recruiting have contributed to the Hogs not having the tough, dominant group that is usually associated with teams coaches by Brett Bielema. Arkansas’ offensive line was nothing special last year, and doesn’t look great this year, either.

A true freshman could be the answer to Alabama’s No. 2 receiver question

In this week’s Numerical, Bill Connelly lays out some wild stats about how often Calvin Ridley is targeted by Jalen Hurts compared to his other teammates. Ridley has 23 targets, No. 2 receiver Robert Foster has just six. Now, I would argue that part of the reason for this is that Hurts seems to look at his primary target, perhaps a check down to a back, and then take off. He’s a much better runner than he is a passer, and that is good enough to beat almost every team Alabama will face.

But if Foster really is not the answer at No. 2, I think true freshman Jerry Jeudy could be. Jeudy is not the freakiest of athletes, but he is an advanced route runner with reliable hands. It would not surprise me to see him get more work as the season wears on.

Dan Mullen is a really good coach

This is an excellent breakdown from Bill Connelly on the Mississippi State beatdown of LSU. Mississippi State played to the strengths of true freshman tackle Stewart Reese. I saw Reese several times as a recruit. He is huge, but not super nimble. The Bulldogs put him in a lot of situations where he could use his size, and minimized the times he needed to block LSU’s fierce edge rushers in space.

Despite its use of a freshman tackle, Mississippi State is quite veteran. The Bulldogs under Mullen occasionally time it right and end up with a super experienced team. When you don’t produce a lot of NFL talent, you don’t lose many players early to the draft. I wrote about this in 2014.

Quickly

Three things I learned from the weekend in college football, including Clemson vs. Louisville and Tennessee vs. Florida.

Spencer Hall had a good review of the Kentucky win at South Carolina. Kentucky absolutely knows who it is as a team, and plays within itself.

This, also by Hall, is an interesting look at the NFL.

The value in that kind of behavior doesn’t come from the product. That flatlined in terms of utility a long, long time ago. (The Patriots remain unusual for not only trying, but trying intelligently to produce a good product.) An NFL owner no longer needs that to continue to boost the value of the franchise using anything that happens on the field. Value comes from getting a new stadium someone else paid for, moving the franchise to a more valuable piece of real estate and doubling the value of the franchise overnight. Value comes from leveraging and re-leveraging your existing assets, not by creating anything new.

I don’t know if I agree that this is the main cause, because there are multiple causes for declining NFL ratings. But it is certainly a cause.

I thought this was a neat way to handle this situation by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

@TBBuccaneers prepared for this #starwars defense . Luck favors the prepared #Baldybreakdowns http://pic.twitter.com/USpK1N7xOx

— Brian Baldinger (@BaldyNFL) September 18, 2017

Thoughts and prayers to Terrace Marshall Jr, a five-star receiver recruit and one of my favorites in the class after his leg injury.

Great report from doctor. Fractured fibula & dislocated ankle. Thank God nothing is torn. This is a small thing to a Big God @Terracemjr

— Meoshia Brazzle (@meoshia_brazzle) September 9, 2017

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vivianrhopper85 · 7 years

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Beast

Opened up in Summer of 2010, Beast restaurant has snorted and charged full bore to success in the years since, under the watchful eye of founder and head chef Scott Vivian and his wife Rachelle, a pastry chef also famous for Dough Toronto doughnuts.

In a space formerly occupied by Amuse-Bouche and Lotus at 96 Tecumseth Street (on Tecumseth between Adelaide St. West and King St. West), Beast serves hearty comfort food in a homey setting.

Scott came from an Italian family that loved to cook. He honed his skills in his teens, solidifying them doing a two year apprenticeship with a chef in Colorado. Stints in Atlanta, Montreal, California and at several Toronto restaurants followed, including the aforementioned Amuse-Bouche. He was head chef and part owner of Wine Bar with Rachelle (the other owner being Jaime Kennedy) when the opportunity to open up a restaurant came about. He is a driving force behind the Group of Seven chefs in Toronto, a collective of local culinary wizards who want to create unique pop-up dining experiences around the city.

Vivian was once quoted as saying that meat was a very important part of cooking. In fact, pork is his favourite meat, and he tries to add it to every dish he can. The menu at Beast certainly validates that assertion, and meat lovers are well served here choosing from the regular menu.

Príspevok, ktorý zdieľa Scott Vivian (@scottvivian), Júl 13, 2017 o 1:35 PDT

For those patrons who can't get enough meat in a typical meal at Beast, whole animal dinners are available upon request. The customer picks the animal, reserves the date (with at least a week's notice) and Beast will prepare a six course meal using all of the "beast". For $80 per person your choices of animal are lamb, goat, duck, chicken, squab, pig or wild boar. For another $20, you can also select cow, venison, elk, water buffalo or bison. Whatever animal is selected is procured from local butchers. One animal per table is permitted and only one whole animal dinner is served per night. Guests are advised to set aside three hours for the experience. For an additional charge, wine pairings are available. HST, 18% gratuity and drinks are extra. "We have a few a month," according to Anthony:

"We always tell people to bring their adventurous sides, it's a great learning experience about what's edible [on any given animal]. It's all great stuff."

Decor

Dark wood floors and tables and chairs give this place a homey yet polished look. The dark wood is offset by white plaster walls and several mirrors, which serve to brighten the room and make it appear larger than it is. Two large windows and a glass door at the front let in plenty of natural light, while a few ceiling chandeliers also cast their soft glow. It is eclectically decorated with a couple of unusual paintings on each side wall, and a stretched out animal skin mounted on the wall beside the bar.

A small patio provides an outdoor dining alternative in nice weather, allowing you to enjoy your food and drink while watching the passersby on the mature tree laden Tecumseth Street.

Atmosphere

The atmosphere was relaxed and friendly, much of this attributable to my server Anthony, who was affable, knowledgeable about the menu and a genuinely cool person to chat with about the food and drink offerings and the restaurant in general. The dark woods and light walls provided a calming contrast, and the artwork on the walls provide great seeds of conversation.

The open door and panoramic windows at the front made the patio almost seem like the inside and outside were all one room, letting the sun and joie vivre of Tecumseth Street in and the cool and homey environs inside out.

Menu Range

The appetizers range from $4 for the house pickles to $6 for the marinated olives, to $15 for the venison tartare and topping out at $17 for Henry's majestic return (an Ontario cow's milk cheese) while the main course (the biscuit sandwiches) are $13-14 each. The only desert, the toffee pudding, comes in at $10.

For their brunch menu, they serve up maple bacon donuts (or the flavour of the day) for $3 a piece, and topping out at the Ace Hill Breakfast for $24 (if you want meat incorporated from the whole hog). The beast biscuit sandwiches, the toffee pudding and a multitude of sides are also available.

A Happy Hour menu from 5pm to 7pm is also on offer, where varied fare like crispy pigs ears ($5) or radish and boquerones ($6) whet your appetite, and $5 drinks like sake, wine, or craft beer are on tap to wash it all down after a long day at work.

Príspevok, ktorý zdieľa Beast Restaurant (@beasttoronto), Jún 11, 2017 o 6:56 PDT

Appetizers

For the appetizer, I tried two dishes; the house pickles and the beef cheek. For $4, the house pickles consisted of marinated beets, celery and sunchoke pickles, the latter described by my server as southern style. The beef cheek, for $15, was cooked to perfection, and came with jicama, herbs, fish sauce, peach, and sunflower seeds. The latter ingredients provided a delicious backdrop to the beef cheek and were also pleasing to the eye on the plate.

Other selections include Henry's majestic return, with golden raisins, pecans, sherry and apple ($17), squid, beef tendon, spicy fermented black bean and bean sprouts ($13), wedge salad, blue cheese, bacon, tomato, everything bagel spice ($11), oysters on the half shell ($3 each, a dozen for $30) and several others.

Main Course

For my main course, on Anthony's advice, I had the Bruce Leroy biscuit sandwich, which was named either after the UFC fighter or the main character in the cult classic film The Last Dragon, and as you probably figured I'd say, it delivered a knockout kick. All sandwiches come with fried chicken thigh, but from there they differ significantly. In my Bruce Leroy sandwich, the fried chicken thigh was accompanied by the house kimchi, kecap manis (Indonesian soy sauce), and kewpie mayo. Other choices include the Beastwich (fried chicken thigh, pimento cheese and pork sausage gravy), the Chicken Club (fried chicken thigh, beast bacon, tomato, iceberg lettuce, ranch or blue cheese dressing), the Pollo Loco (fried chicken thigh, guacamole, ranchero sauce, sheep's milk feta), the Buffalo Bird (fried chicken thigh, Frank's red hot, iceberg lettuce, pickles, ranch or blue cheese dressing) and the Mad Maple (fried chicken thigh, beast bacon, cheddar cheese, Ontario maple syrup). All tastes are served well here, for $13 to $14. While I did not do so, you can also add a fried egg to any biscuit sandwich for an additional $2.

Príspevok, ktorý zdieľa Beast Restaurant (@beasttoronto), Okt 1, 2016 o 3:43 PDT

Desert

I finished off my meal with their sticky toffee pudding, concocted by pastry chef Rachelle. It was laden with toffee sauce and creme fraiche for $10. My only quibble was that there was too much toffee sauce in the bowl around the toffee pudding; it was literally swimming in it. It was a sweet and tasty way to end off my meal nonetheless.

Drink options

Since I was driving, I had the non-alcoholic cider, from Spirit Tree Estate Cidery in Caledon Ontario. It was $5 and very refreshing. So much so that I had two of them. Other non-alcoholic choices include sparkling water ($2-4), pop ($2), tea and coffee ($4).

Beast also boasts an impressive wine (red, white rose and sparkling, $45-250, by the bottle), beer, cocktails, sake ($24-75, by the bottle) and alcoholic cider selection ($8-36). The wines and sake are also available by the glass too ($10-12).

All bottles of wine are half price very Wednesday from 5pm to close. A full list of their liquid offerings can be viewed at their site.

Service

The service was good, but a little slow at times. Otherwise, my server Anthony was very friendly, knowledgeable about the menu, helpful with any queries I had about the restaurant and its history, and also went above and beyond to get me a Beast T-shirt in the size I wanted (a gift for a friend).

Príspevok, ktorý zdieľa Beast Restaurant (@beasttoronto), Apr 6, 2017 o 4:47 PDT

Feeling afterward

After my meal, I felt stuffed to the gills, but in a good and healthy way. Everything was expertly prepared by Chef de cuisine Jason Poon, with the exception of the toffee pudding by Rachelle of course, and I left feeling quite satiated, energetic and raring to go... like a beast!

Beast restaurant is open from 5pm to 10pm Wednesday to Saturday, and is open for Brunch 10am to 3pm on weekends and holiday Mondays. They're closed on Monday and Tuesday. They don't take reservations for Brunch (it's first come, first served) but reservations for dinner are recommended. Gift certificates can be bought at the restaurant for that special someone. Catering is also available. You can reach them at thebeastrestaurant.com, [email protected] or at 647-352-6000. They are also on Facebook and Twitter.

MR00KV

from News And Tip About Real Estate https://jamiesarner.com/toronto-restaurant-reviews/beast/

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mrjammies-blog · 8 years

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Day 9-11 Notes from the Underground

Other people’s anxiety and depression displays in cool ways. Through tortured and compelling art, or the need for attention that makes them great performers, or even through anger issues that give voice to the torture. Me? I get impulse control issues. I realized this past weekend while visiting my parents that I get this from my mother. When she is anxious or depressed, usually due to some kind of lack of control or a situation bigger than she knows how to navigate, she acts without thinking. She’s of the generation that thinks you just need to do something if you’re feeling down or anxious. Don’t just sit there, you can fix the problems or forget your problems if you just do something.

She, in turn, learned it from her mother. “Sadness means you need a hobby” is a paraphrased version of what my mom used to always say her mom said. But Granny, as much as I loved her, was an also an anxious ball of nerves that chain-smoked from an early age. Meaning the 1930s and ‘40s when cigarettes were said to be healthy because they “calmed your nerves.” I remember being in the car with her when she’d just gotten back from paying a bill and hadn’t had a cigarette for a little bit. She was a mess of movement and nerves. Her hands flailing like a dying fish, feeling for the window controls and fumbling for a cigarette. Until the day she was put into a medically induced coma because her body was riddled with cancer, her guts a solid mass, she was washing her own clothes, mowing her own lawn, and pestering her local city counsel representative on the regular. Granny was an active, tough, spit-fire so common of North Georgia Mountain Women raised through the Depression.

She had four kids and raised them independent of her ex-husband whose drinking and philandering made their marriage impossible. Grandpa was deadly handsome and incredibly charismatic. But he preferred the life of a bar fly to that of a family man. Granny divorced him, which was unheard of in Rome, Georgia in the early ‘60s, and raised 3 boys and a little girl (my mom) by herself. Working her ass off and never missing a mortgage payment.

My mom and Granny were very close. They talked on the phone once a week and when Granny got cancer and was told she only had a couple months to live, my mom dropped everything and went to Rome to be by her side. Granny literally died in my mom’s arms in a hospice bed in her living room. The part of her house that was once a bedroom and before that, a porch. The house she moved into shortly after the divorce with a monthly mortgage payment of $50.

That being said, that part of my family is crazy with undiagnosed mental illness. A great uncle of mine blew his brains out when he got diagnosed with cancer and couldn’t travel anymore. A cousin of my mom’s sounds like she’s paranoid schizophrenic. My uncle has had a lifelong struggle with depression and had a clinical breakdown when his daughter was killed in a car wreck. My mom’s other cousin’s son tried to kill her and rob her for drug money. The men, especially, in my mom’s side of the family die early of cancer or tragic episodes so common in rural America. The women survive with the consequences, anxious and always certain that they know exactly what went wrong.

So, like her mother before her and, no doubt, Granny’s mother before her, my mom is anxious and full of overly simple answers to all of life’s problems. I grew up with these hard and fast rules that, now, seem so arbitrary. Don’t drink, you’ll become an alcoholic. Don’t smoke, you’ll get cancer. If you don’t feel like getting out of bed, get up and do something, you’ll feel better. Feeling a little down, go buy something that makes you happy.

So, like my mother, and my mother’s mother, and my mother’s mother’s mother, I am animated by the same anxiety and struggle for depression. Feeling, with every bout of depression, that all I have to do is get up and do something and do something now. When I don’t feel like I can do anything--in those moments when I am without power--I lash out. I must do something. I must enact the simple solution in my mind and go on with my life in my new road beyond all the burned bridges. And when that’s not an option, I shut down and fall into irreparable despair that feels like it will never end. And in those moments, the only cure left is time.

Hence, the impulse control issues. I can rationalize any decision I make in my head, even when it is destructive. I’ll usually buy something I can’t afford and don’t need in order to feed my latest obsession or new collection and pour everything into that. For example, yesterday, on an impulse, I bought $27-worth of mostly Disney VHS cassette tapes. There was no reason. I didn’t need them. I don’t have anywhere to put them. I have a VCR, so there’s that at least, but none-the-less, I did it. However, that’s an impulse buy I can live with. My wife and I played Monopoly while watching Cool Runnings last night and it was lovely. I have a bunch of Disney classics now, a few of which have not been re-released on DVD or Bluray. Plus, I like the plush packaging of those VHS tapes. They’ll look good on my shelf.

My mom, however, has impulse issues when it comes to buying stuff for the house and plants. My mom has a beautiful garden because she obsesses over it and planting pretty flowers makes her feel good. She goes hog-wild buying Christmas decorations and pretty things to set around the house because they make her feel good. It’s no different for me. It’s just that I have comics, movies, and t-shirts that make me feel good.

My mom and I are also always on the hunt for a new project. Projects we might not have the knowledge or money to pursue but that doesn’t stop us. I am currently looking into redesigning my home office and kitting it with a wraparound shelf, a corner desk, a home bar, a video recording station, and a podcasting station. I don’t have money for any of this. I have drawings and lay-outs to redesign our living room. We don’t have money for furniture. I want to design and build a proper garden in our back yard so that the chickens don’t fuck with our tomatoes. I don’t know how to do that and make it look good.

It’s all impulse. It’s all grand plans that I make for myself that could very well get back burnered if I don’t find a proper balance. It all comes from a manic need to find the thing that’s going to make me happy. My mom’s impulses also come from that manic need to find the thing that’s going to make her happy. They only get worse when things change to where things feel beyond her control.

She grew up in an environment with a lot of unpredictable elements. When she became a parent, I became another element in her life that was in her expanded realm of responsibility. I was a small sack of emotions and meat that could be popped. Her red balloon that was perpetually bouncing into treacherous territories she didn’t understand. So, like anything within the realm of her responsibility, she sought to control it. While she dealt with unpredictable elements like three older brothers, an alcoholic and probably manic depressive dad, an anxiety-ridden mom that worked all the time, I dealt with a household whose chief motivation was to keep mom from giving us a hard time and over-reacting.

So why our particular impulses? Her’s for home-making and mine for collecting and nerdish obsessing? In a word: tranquility.

When my mom was growing up, they had a next-door neighbor whose name I can’t remember but mom has mentioned many times as important to her. She was an older lady who lived alone. Her house was always immaculately decorated and clean and my mom loved all the small baubles around her house. My mom inherited a few when she died and she still has them proudly displayed in her kitchen and will point them out to you and talk about how that lady’s house was her sanctuary.

For me, it was media. The act of creating breath-taking art with a group has long been a fascination of mine. The raw emotion of music was my refuge. Watching Bill and Ted be best friends was my sanctuary. Seeing Kevin Smith fuck around with his friends and create movies was my goal. It is all I’ve ever wanted. Media is my tranquility. A world where everything seems in its right place, where people get along, and no one is trying to control every aspect of your life. With media, you can find what speaks to you, find what understands you, and connect with other people with a common language.

Like many things, looking back, it seems so obvious that my anxiety and depression display themselves through impulse control issues. Yet, it still came in a big realization when I went back to my parents’ this past weekend. My brother is about to move out of state. My parents will be true empty nesters with their only two sons far away. I am about five hours away and my brother will be about nine. My mom is freaking out and, without a doubt, depressed by this. So she is acting. Just like I would. I am my mother’s son.

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