#two missed connections that day

[looosey]

Lucy's Side Quest #3: Move In and a Boston Summer Begins

Yesterday, I woke up at 3:30 a.m. and started my move in process to my Boston summer housing, which entailed:

my dear mother driving me to DFW airport,

taking a flight to Detroit,

taking another flight to Boston,

lyfting to Mass Ave,

moving all my 5 boxes and two suitcases up five flights of stairs with Hanu,

and then being devastated to see that the my room was first of all dusty crusty and musty and second of all fugly.

A thick dark layer of dust, like soot, covered the windowsill, and hair and dust blowed up as I walked around the wooden floor that had a thin layer of grime (think tire skid marks). The old mattress had a yellowing paper-texture cover sheet that was torn like someone punched it multiple times in the middle. A fake, dirty, fire place served as decor, as if the lemon yellow and grapefruit orange walls could be made elegant.

So before I could take out a single item, Hanu and I swiffered up the floors and lysoled every surface/crevice. Bless her soul. How did the previous owner live in a dust bowl, I don't know. It was 9 p.m. by the time I felt like I could unpack a suitcase.

But alas, 36 hours later, it's now clean enough to do a room tour, so I welcome you to the Citrus Room!

POV: You walk in the Citrus Room

This is the view when you walk in. The piano, the monitor, and money tree are summer guests that you're taking care of for your friends. On the right of you are some mirrors you can watch yourself slay outfits or dance your little dance.

On the wall with the door, is a huge built-in shelf, for your makeup, books, textbooks, some food, shoes, anything really. There's also a built in closet to hang up clothes and put your box full of winter clothes and @notesoncrocs 's old soundproof foam. You and Renee are the same kind of ambitious delusional. Also spot @tumblasha 's beautiful letter on the dresser.

The bed is a single, on risers. Your Italian flag, gifted by GTL students, and the donk posters, and the favorite photograph you took of a Korean beach are on this wall.

The view outside your window is pretty nice. Mass Ave. Just how you like it. Yeah it gets loud at night, but it reminds you of when you used to live in Taipei as a child. That's all the thoughts you have on this room so far.

End POV

ANyways, my first day of UROPing went fine. Hayden is nice and quiet. But because I have no groceries yet, I went out and got a flour breakfast sandwich and coffee and was extremely baffaffelled. $17 for a McMuffin and drip coffee? I went hungry for lunch, but was full of pride. So more cooking is coming your way!!

Hope to soon see what the rest of y'all are up to. I miss y'all a lot, this campus is not the same without all of y'all!!

[ahollowgrave]

Day 31: Heroic

To do what must be done.

[pineappical]

"Never gonna tell a lie and hurt you." 2x10 – 3x12

[not-poignant]

I reblogged something last night about how sometimes people ask a question that can easily be googled because they want a human connection more than they want the answer quickly.

I also wanted to add that another reason is simply that Google is now way more terrible than it used to be, and there's no guarantee that someone will get the same answers that you do in an identical Google search. In fact, I can guarantee you they won't, and the more politically disparate your views, the more likely they are to get the kind of results you don't want them to get.

That doesn't matter as much on things like 'what's the best vacuum cleaner' (in which case human recommendations are often more meaningful than a single Google search anyway). But it does matter a great deal on political subjects.

Once upon a time, Google gave everyone exactly the same results if they all used exactly the same search terms. That might be before the time of some of the people here. But either way, these days, that's not what Google does. It caters search results specifically to you based on the algorithms of what you buy, what you read, and what you spend the most time looking at.

If you're an academic type who enjoys researching thoroughly, you're more likely to see .edu sites and peer reviewed articles in your results than someone who likes the tabloids and implicitly trusts Fox News. If you want that person to have access to the same level of information you have, you can't assume Google will give it to them. You don't owe them labour, but if you want a person to have that information, you may have to give it to them, or teach them how to find it beyond a flippant 'Google it.'

Oh, and above all of that, Google privileges the search results of the companies that pay them the most money to be the top in their rankings.

At any rate, the phrase 'just Google it' isn't really useful anymore. If you don't have the energy to help someone, don't help them and walk away. If you don't have the energy to put up with trolling, don't dismiss them with verbiage that implies that it's wrong to ask for help, because trolls don't care, and the people who are genuinely curious will feel like it's wrong to ask for help.

Note: None of this applies to sealioning, which is a shitty practice. You can push sealions back into the ocean where they belong.

Note 2: Alternative search engines are great.

[jichanxo]

how it started:

how it's going:

[nudelherz]

well at least the terrible fear of being to needy and attention seeking keeps me in check. at least i got that going for me. coolio baboolio.

[remedyturtles]

wagh!

[sophieswundergarten]

Mundane Magic/Superpowers that I think MBS Humans would have

Mr. Benedict can tell just the right trick to get someone talking. He uses this on occasion for more sneaky things, like getting important information out of a government agent who'd otherwise be hesitant to share by offering them a plate of cookies, but most often it's directed toward giving his family the confidence to say what's on their mind. More or less eye contact, a hug or keeping his distance, playing a game or even just sitting together quietly. He knows each of the people he loves intimately well, and he can tell when there's something weighing on their hearts. However, there are definitely times when he uses this emotional intuition to pull pranks or silly secrets out of them, and while there's a slight surprised indignation, the moment always ends in laughter.

Number Two never runs out of dishes. It doesn't matter if she's cooking or making everyone hot chocolate or even putting away leftovers. The entire kitchen could be a disaster, but she will always have just the right container free. Somehow, whatever she needs is right there in the cabinet. She barely even bothers to look anymore, just reaching in and knowing that at the tips of her fingers will be the right sized mixing bowl, or the correct number of spoons, or another pie dish for Moocho. Some days, she won't necessarily find what she's looking for, but she'll find what is needed. Mr. Benedict's favourite mug, Kate's hand-painted bowl, the plate she always uses to bring SQ snacks. And she'll simply shrug and go about preparing whatever that person needs. (It's always appreciated)

Rhonda always knows the right colours for things. Beyond just having an artistic eye, she knows how the right patterns and designs will influence a person. Colour theory to the max. She can make herself look younger, older, more credible, or even on death's doorstep. Half of her disguises are based around the right shade of cloth, and besides that, she can extend her skills to interior design too. Why do you think Mr. Benedict's study is so particularly calming to him? She sets up each of the children's rooms, and though she may not have known them for long, somehow she got everything right, to the point that Sticky asks if she'd been spying on them to ascertain their favourite colours.

Milligan is always the right temperature for day-to-day events. He brings a jacket everywhere in case, because he likes to be prepared, but rarely needs it. More often than not, he ends up giving it to someone else because they got cold. Even when moving in and out of buildings, he adapts quickly to whatever the weather or indoor temperature might be. Even if it's a slightly chillier day, and he did think that a sweater would be needed, the instant Kate starts shivering he takes it off, and finds that he probably didn't need it after all. Rain never seems to stick to him, rolling off his hat and overcoat like he's a duck, and though his hair might be damp, he's never soaked by anything less than a torrential storm.

Miss Perumal makes the perfect cup of tea. No matter who she's making it for or how much, she has just the right timing to get the best flavour. It doesn't matter if it's a special kind of tea leaves she bought intentionally and has been saving or if it's the weird stuff kept in hotel rooms, tea made by her hands is always the best. Of course, when she takes the time to intentionally make tea just for a specific person it has the added bonus attached, but there's always something comforting about a cup of tea from her.

Curtain never has his ink bleed when he's writing. Anything he commits to paper, even if it's a harried scribble, always is perfectly legible to him. Pencil graphite never smears for him, and he is consistently able to find a writing utensil when he needs one. When he was in school, he never had to borrow one, his pencils were always sharp and his pens never died. (It was unknown whether they simply kept working until he finished writing and then disappeared or were lost, or if he really just used the same one for years on end)

Garrison keeps impeccable time in her head. She barely even needs a stop watch for times up to five or ten minutes (But she keeps one on hand anyways). Timing experiments, keeping track of how long she needs to finish tasks, even remembering how long it takes other people to do things if she's seen them do it enough. She doesn't want to believe that she has this ability, even though no matter how many times she tests it she comes up with near perfect results, but sometimes she finds herself relying on it absentmindedly.

SQ has never broken or lost a single piece of his art supplies. No matter what's happening, or where he's been, he's always able to find everything safe in his bag. He doesn't even need to be paying attention, but whatever colour of pencil or type of tool he grabs when he's too focused on his work to look up is exactly what he needs. There's something about his art that seems more vibrant and alive than most others', and even he isn't completely sure how exactly what he's picturing in his mind transfers so perfectly to the physical world.

Reynie gives the best hugs. It doesn't matter who it is, or how badly their day has been going, he always knows just the right amount of pressure. His hugs never last too long, even though he's never the first one to pull away. He finds the right position for his arms and the correct way to lean into the person he's hugging no matter their height. Even if he's in a completely separate room, or if the person goes off to be on their own, something will nag at him to go find them, and when he does it's always a welcome intrusion. The others never even have to ask, which is good for some of them who struggle with verbally requesting affection. As soon as the thought enters their head to wish for a hug, he's right there, ready to offer one, with a smile entirely free of judgement.

Sticky's books stay open to the right page no matter what. Even if he closes it, the next time he picks it up it will fall open right where he left off. He always remembers where he stopped reading, obviously, but it's a nice comfort to have the books immediately settle on where he last was. On occasion, however, the pages will turn not to what he was reading, but what he needs to read. When he's feeling alone, the notebook he keeps his friends' letters in will fall off the shelf; sometimes an operating manual will tip over on his desk just a few minutes before his mother's wheelchair acts up; and he has great success finding recipe cards that Number Two would have sworn had been lost for months on the very day they're wanted.

Kate has a keen sense for when things will last. Rope, tools, even furniture, all she has to do is look at it for a moment and she'll be able to tell whether or not it will be worth using. She would always check the harnesses and equipment at the circus, warning the other performers if something was nearing a breaking point. Once she meets the others, she will sometimes take a day where she works her way through Mr. Benedict's study with her friends, making a stack of books whose binding is getting particularly fragile. She also is very careful to sneakily dispose of any dishes that might have hidden stress fractures, since so many people in their family are sensitive to the loud shattering noises.

Constance can always find blank paper. It doesn't matter where they are, or what's going on, there's either a stack of free brochures she can disassemble or a flyer she can steal or a scrap of notepaper buried deep in her pocket that she evidently forgot about. There were a couple of times her family was concerned she was just tearing the end pages out of books, but she insisted that she would never do that, citing how upset it would make Mr. Benedict (And the rest of them, even though she won't admit it) Most often she uses these to write down her poems, but if there's ever an important message she must pass on, or a vital detail that needs to be recorded, she always has enough space to ensure everything is included.

Moocho, of course, can bake amazing pies. However, beyond his skilled ability to never tear or burn crusts, he is always able to intuit portions. It's a little like Kate being able to know measurements, but even if there's no notice that there's going to be a guest, something will tell him to make extra. He always knows how hungry someone is, even if they deny it, and will give them the right amount of food. Everyone eventually learns to trust him, and on some rainy day when the larger serving dishes are pulled out, they are certain to set an extra place at the table.

[meep--tm]

:)

[pinktwink]

The urge to tell the restaurant customer that when we saw each other at the dispensary a month ago the body of a woman missing was being found down the street that was just identified today

[monstermp3]

♡

[rachalixie]

sigh.

[ilargeicontradictmiself]

I don't think we've talked enough about how iconic it was that the flash got both Wentworth and dominic to play partners, ice and fire, with wentworth the one making the plans. Like the first episode he appears in they don't even show dominic, you hear him say "yeah buddy im in" at the very end of the episode. They gave them whole ass brotherly partners they started in the flash then moved to legends and all that after the first run of prison break, like they knew the power they had at that point. Fucking iconic.

[primelinchen-the-second]

I'm alone on the train with an older couple and she very politely complimented my rainbow socks and then asked if I'm a woman or a man and I said "Mal so, mal so" and nothing ever felt more right to say and she only said ahhh and asked what the word for that is and it was a very pleasant interaction

[syncrovoid-presents]

Random thoughts: Can't wait until I move again next year back to the valley. Super excited for all our local festivals and celebrations!! Sadly they dont happen where I am now, no one even has heard of them.

Big L to these folks they don't know the freedom of trading skills and the fresh sea and local wildlife. Or celebrating just to celebrate. Where are the get togethers? Where are the potlucks? The community? The rules of politeness and friendliness are different here and it's strange how friendly from the valley is seen as overextending yourself here.

Also I can't wait to see the mechanical riding bull at the various ocean creature festivals we do! Also no one does any cèilidh here? It is strange and interesting and folks around this city (very far fromthe valley) are different? But I am acclimating, although I still am looking forward to going back too

[are-we-really-doing-this]

Y’all would not fucking believe the day I have had.