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lockdownuk · 3 years

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Lockdown Diary Part 10

A personal account during the lockdown in the UK due to the Covid-19 outbreak.

23/03/2020 8:30pm Boris Johnson, UK Prime Minister, gives a live address to the nation to, effectively, put the country on lockdown to stem the spread of the deadly coronavirus strain, Covid-19.

Many of us have been self-isolating for days but this latest development within the UK in reaction to the pandemic feels very serious and very scary. I decided to keep a simple diary and where better but online. Day 271: Work was dominated by Qfiniti again, including a meeting with Jon and staff from the States, where I found my self taking control to get the next steps in process (and then, Dave Stewart, the SCCM engineer fucked off and put an OOO message on Teams telling me he’s off until Tuesday (it’s Thursday)...and I am off on Monday!) But, I have to say this project does float my boat. Got a text message and then a call from PCH for another laser eye appt this coming Monday at 12.30pm. I mentioned to the lady that phoned that I will have to square it with work (I won’t, but she doesn’t know that) as I can’t afford to lose my job - it just seems the hospital, while under pressue with the admin and the clinic availability - I get it! - just aren’t seeing the issues for the patients. Plus, Peterborough has been declared a Tier 3 from Sunday under the new lockdown scheme, the highest tier. Great...I really want to travel to a highly infected area! managed to find an online booze shop that does Gordon’s and Famous Grouse and will deliver beforee Chrimbo, so I’ve placed the order for dad and Rita’s gift. I spoke with Dad today, he hasn’t heard about his vaccination yet which is a surprise (he’s in the first draft being over 80)

Day 272: Typing on day 273. Work was that manic shit at the end of the dya when I’ve got time off. I am only off on Moday but still had to tie up loose ends, complictaed further by Jon being off next week and Sueanne off this week and the Qfiniti project! In the evening I only mamaged three beers. I ate too much. Plus my sugars were all over the place and way too high! I ordered a torch a couple of days ago (£17), it arrived today. It takes rechargeable batteries or 3 AAAs. Apparently, to get the best performance (i.e. brightness) you need the rechargeable batteries in it, so i charged ‘em. Fucking hell, I’m glad I did - it’s brighter than the sun. It opens up my late walks in winter, for sure.

Day 273: While it was a very late (but sober) night yesterday (gone 4am before lights out) I was up before midday. Usual walking etc. plus gave the bathroom a clean (albeit with wipes, but I did mop the floor - and used the water to also mop the kitchen). Now I am about to stick a pizza in the oven, plus wedges (to have with microwaveable chip shop curry sauce) and watch This Is 40 which is coincidentally on telly tonight - the coincidence being clips of it are on TikTok a lot right now. I am on my second beer and am going to have a smoke right now as well. Lastly for this entry, I have been using my AudioPro speaker today, it pisses me off it’s not WiFi capable but, thru Bt, it does sound fucking good - revisiting James works very well to demonstrate the speaker’s prowess.

Day 274: I have another Paypal a/c. I have been getting emails to my standard gmail account from Paypal saying they are going to charge me £9 for an inactive account which I have been largely ignoring since my paypal a/c has a specific email address. Anyway, I tried to log in, after a password reset and, hey presto, I do have another one, with £35 in it, having just been fleeced of £9 for the aforementioned inactivity, fuckers. It’s registered with the old Market Place address and phone. When I try to transfer the £35 to my card, it wants to confim it’s me by calling the phone, which I can’t amend. Oh, and you can’t contact Paypal direct. Fuck knows what to do! Other than that, usual Sunday, a tad more relaxed since I have tomorrow off, but not that much now I have an eye appointment in Tier 4 Peterborough (it’s been up’d from tier 3)! Up at 1.30 pm (I watched This is 40 and The Guvners last night with lots of beer), feeling worse for wear but, stair climb and a 6 miler acheived!

Day 275: I was at the hospital for 3 hours. The laser clinic didn’t start until 1.30pm so, why my appointment was at 12.20, not even the consultant could understand. 15 minutes of lasering - horrible but I am used to it. It took so long it pretty much fucked my day off up completely. I got a Christmas card from Karen, in the actual post, so, a mail shot. It’s depressing.

Day 276: Back to work and it’s definitely in wind down mode. I’ve decided to compile a list of things I have done this year. It will be on the postive side, such as all the steps I’ve walked and getting an article published about my photography, but it will also include randon facts like getting bitten by a dig twice and not having a haircut. I’ll get it done so I can post in at new year, hopefully be a little inspiring, a little silly and a lot of showing off!

Day 277: Work, again, was quiet. It’s fucking pissing down now, as I type at 21:50, and has been all day. It’s causing havoc and there’s flooding everywhere. I could walk down St. Peter’s Road tonight ‘cos of it (had to go up New Road, Springfield Road, down Latham Road). Soaked a lunhtime and tonight! With a new variant of Coronavirus, France stopped frieght crossing the border. That’s now been resolved but tyeh back log has/is affecting certain food stocks in the shops, of which, fresh veg might affect me for Christams dinner (I plan to do a chicken breast with stuffing, pigs in blankets, yorkshire pud and shed loads of veg. I’ll nip to Co-Op tomorrow morning and see what’s vaialble. It’s a half day at work ‘cos of Christmas Eve, so I can nip out somewhere in the car if need be, as ong as the flooding has subsided. Or I could just get shitfaced and have burgers and pizza.

Day 278: Christmas Eve. Sueanne let me finish at 11.00am so, very shortly thereafter, off for a walk I went; it turned out to be a stop/start affair - flooding as the Nene had burst its banks, ended up doing more of a circuit round town. Bumped into Andy Smith (and his son) and, after that, Ash and Denise. Ended up doing just under 11.5km in 2 and a half hours.Knackered! As I type, I have a chilli on the stove, beer on the go, all the veg and chicken breast bought with no shortages, as feared, for tomorrow’s lunch and looking forward to eating. getting drunk, smoking, listening to music, watching telly....all over the next two/three days.

Day 279: I don’t even remember going to bed last night. As a direct result I got out of bed at 2.30pm. I couldn’t even be bothered with Christmas dinner, let alone anything else like exercise. I’m just about to have chilli for dinner (it’s 8.10pm). Watch some telly then try an go to sleep before midnight. No booze! I did talk to dad earlier. Day 280: Typing on day 281. A better, more productive day. Up @11.00am exercise and walk as usual, although the walk was a different route due to flooding. In the evening I could hear ‘storm Bella’ raging, so windy! I cooked a christmas dinner of sorts, chicken breast with Thyme, all the veg, roasted spuds and parsnip, stuffing (a first for me, albeit co-op stuffing mix), Yorkshie and pigs in blankets. It was smashing! A few beers and The Hitman’s Bodyguard, alays a fun watch. A better day, as I say, but I am feeling particular deflated this Christmas. Day 281: Typing on day 282. I realised, about mid afternoon, that Monday (tomorrow) is a bank holiday so no work. It was a great realisation but, also, worrying that it dawned on my like I’m an old person! Nevertheless, a nice long walk - bumped into Baz & Kate and had a nice long chat, then El & Camila, Aaron and Eva for another, shorter chat. I also saw Denise & Ash along the way. Fog video called later in the evening for a chat too (he told me how he fell asleep at the dinner table, fuck he makes me laugh - unwittingly - when I need it most!) A regular social fest! A repeat of last night’s dinner and a few beers - it was a good day albeit I am in a proper low ebb.

Day 282: Up at midday after a 4am-er. A very long walk (1.75 hours) and a hodge podge dinner (remaining chilli, roasted spuds and peppers, steamed cauliflower and runner beans, grated cheese) - it’s nearly ready, I’ll type the review tomorrow. I realise that this is the first time in 21 Christmases that I have at least talked to K. Is that connected to my mood slump? I reckon so. So, as that fact dawned on me, I then considered, should it be the case next Christmas, it will not be the first in along time and, as such, more manageable....fuck knows how I manage to accentuate any little positive but, thank goodness I do. Day 283: Work was a sedate affair today, fuck all to do really. Sueanne is now follwing me on Insta...I shall invetsigate on how to exclude posts to individuals, methinks. Tea, last night, was fucking lovely. More of the same tonight-ish - currently I am roasting spuds, peppers, garlic, chillies, tomatoes - it’ll all go with left over pigs-in-blankets (5) and a burger. I’ll have bisto beef with mustard on it. I can’t wait! Day 284: Typing on day 285. That meal was fucking lush! Checked on the car todfay and it would not start. Something is draining the battery so I will have to give it a run every day until I can get Julian to sort it. So, I WhatsApp’d Karen to borrow the portable starter. She dropped it off for me. We had the briefest of chats at the doorstep, first time we’ve spoken in weeks. She mentioned my hair! Day 285: NYE. I have just got back from walking to Cottersock and back. I would not have been able to do so without my new torch! I finished and published my double letter quiz on FB, including to the Virtual Pub group and the Oundle Chatter. It’s had some good feedback, I’m rather proud of it. I am going to make chicken casserole now (with dumplings - a first for me, I even bought some flour), have some beers and get a bit stoned. Before that, I am going to finish off my list of things I’ve done this year, including steps wlaked and hours listening on Spotify. I am quite proud of that list too.

Day 286: I fucked the dumplings up, added too much water, so that didn’t happen but the chicken casserole was good, just about to finish it for tea tonight. I also had pizza last night and went to bed at 5am. I have had a lot of good feedback on my list of 2020 achievements. I proud of it. K sent a happy new WhatsApp last night, around 00.30.

Day 287: No booze last night, so I was up before the alarm today (about 10.00am) Two walks, one on my own, another with Fog with a couple of beers. I fucking loved it! Watching datrts (World champs semi finals - been texting Dan while the first one has been on). Going to watch The Aviator later...I’ve not seen it before which surprises me. Why it surprises me I do not know, since I know I haven’t seen it. How the fuck can I be surprised by a fact I’m completely aware of? Day 288: I didn’t watch The Aviator ‘cos Logan Luck was on at 11:55pm on ITV4. Great fildm...I can’t believe that I very nearly paid for it (rent from Sky or Amazon). A late one last night and quite pissed. Thinking about it, having afew beers with Fog in the afternoon made it quite a long sesh for me! Up at just gone midday today, nice long walk (Cotterstock) which was mde long by a painful right ankle - I must have turned or twiested slightly sometime. Still, it survived. Back to work tomorrow - Chrimbo and New Year all done and dusted for the 55th time in my life!

Day 289: First day back at work of 2021. Boris announces another full lockdown in England (there’s a new strain of Covid19 which is seeing huge numbers of infections every day, over 50,000 per day).

Day 290: Something is up with my right foot, the little toe pad. It’s bloody sore. If it gets any worse it’ll affect my walking and exercise. I phoned Anne Bennison to talk about it, she just wants me to go and see her which i donlt want to do if poss, pandemic and all that.

Day 291: Wearing my sandals instead of the M&S slippers and my foot/toepad is already feeling bteer. However, I did inspect my Merrell boots, just in case, and the sole on te right is really worn down, in just three months. I have sent a WhatsApp to CotswoldOutdoors, where I got them from....let’s see what they say! It’s all kicking off i the US - pro Trump protestors have storm the Capitol Building, where congrees was being held. Only in ‘Merica.

Day 292: Busy at work with rolling out Qfiniti - all that project work was pretty much for fuck all since the SCCM package has to hand held. It’s feckin’ freezing today, below freezing, slippy af on my walks. I have been shopping tonight, £106 in Corby Tesco. That does include 8 cans of sapporo.

Day 293: The fracas at Capitol Hill on Wednesday left 5 dead, it looks like Trump will be impeached. He’s already said he’ll not attend Biden’s inauguration. In a fucking world gone mad, it’s another level of madness. It’s really cold -3℃ tonight, more of the same tomorrow. Makes for brisk walks. I’ve just had chicken balti pie and chips for tea. It was so nice that I burnt the roof of my fucking gob. I’m on the Sapporo and about to have a smoke then watch Jack Reacher. I’ve (kinda) earnt after the first 5 day week for a while.

Day 294: Well, last night saw another late one...5am by the time I :went to sleep. Up at 2pm today with no instention of any exercise or walking or housework or fuck all, really. But, I did my exercises and a 9 mile walk. While I walked I came across Banners, quick 15 min chat and listed to Stage by David Bowie. He’s all over the radio right now as it’s his death’s anniversary tomorrow and his birthday yesterday. It’s a fucking good live album. A few beers tonight, eating trash, watching FA Cup highlights then End of Watch later. Posh played today (first time in a while due to Covid infections) drew away to (shitty) Lincoln 1-1. Good point as Posh were down to ten men after 67 mins for a second yellow for handball in the area. Lincoln missed the pen. Fucking funny. Chorley, the non leaguers who knocked Posh out in round 2 of the FA Cup, beat Derby in round 3 today (albeit derby fielded an academy side of 11 first timers due to Covid ) - a great day for them!

Day 295: Up at 2pm swearing blind I’d not walk or exercise (again!) but, of course I did. I’ve done over 25 miles this w/e! End of Watch was brilliant last night. Well worth a rewatch, so emotional. I am making butter chicken as I type. I’ve added extra onion, garlic and, of course, chillies. It’s the spiciest butter chicken I have ever tasted!

Day 296: One of those frustrating days at work when no problem of request I try to resolve goes without a hitch. After a 7km walk in the evening, took the car for a spin and cleaned the bathroom. Fucking knackered. It’s 11:30pm and I’m in bed typing this on the iPad! despite getting up so late, I feel knackered. 11pm bedtime for me, I reckon.

Day 297: Fucking busy at work, the States rolled out a new Okta trust policy and it caused mayhem. Meant my evening walk didn’t start ‘til gone 6pm. When I got back, clened the hall and stairs, made chilli (which I am about to have for tea (gone 10.15pm!) and showered. I’m, again, fucking knackered! Posh played Portsmouth in the EFL Trophy 3rd round at home. Won 5-1. Nice.

Day 298: Had an electrician rouind for the EICR cetrt. He was here until 2pm and it was a pain in the arse, having to work upstairs plus, with having to cut the electricity, all the smart devices lost their settings. And it was freezing up there.

Day 299: Work was impossibly infuriating. Not one pc remote session went to plan! It was pissing down a lunchtime during my walk but, I have to say, the cheap TargetDry coat copes fine in heavy rain for short periods. Everywhere is flooding again even though the rain turned to sleet. By my evening walk, it was dry but bloody cold. Then, when I got in I cleaned the kitchen and mopped the floor and the bathroom’s as well. I fucking done in! Chatted to dad today - same as ever!

Day 300: What a fucking work at week! I am so glad it’s Friday. To celebrate, I ordered new walking boots: Scarpas £121!

#diary #Tumblr diary #lockdown #COVID19 #lockdownuk

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littlefoxesonthehillside · 4 years

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Another survey I found. Because I’m bored af.

1) Sexuality?

Gay.

2) If you could meet anyone on this earth, who would it be?

Lily Tomlin.

3) Grab the book nearest to you, turn to page 23, give me line 17.

“should have continued to talk of it, and allowed their guest to re-”

4) What do you think about most?

Movies, wrestling, men.

5) What does your latest text message from someone else say?

Thumbs up emoji.

6) Do you sleep with or without clothes on?

Usually with.

7) What’s your strangest talent?

I used to be able to shimmy up doorways.

8) Girls…. (finish the sentence); Boys…. (finish the sentence)

Girls should have the same rights as everyone and be treated equally.

Boys are stupid.

9) Ever had a poem or song written about you?

Don’t think so.

10) When is the last time you played the air guitar?

About a week or so ago.

11) Do you have any strange phobias?

I’m afraid of birds.

12) Ever stuck a foreign object up your nose?

An almond.

13) What’s your religion?

I’m not religious.

14) If you are outside, what are you most likely doing?

Yard work.

15) Do you prefer to be behind the camera or in front of it?

Behind.

16) Simple but extremely complex. Favorite band?

It varies, honestly. I’ve been in an early-to-mid-2000s mood lately, so I’ve been listening to The Killers recently.

17) What was the last lie you told?

That I’m doing okay.

18) Do you believe in karma?

Not really.

19) What does your URL mean?

Just the name of my blog, which is a riff on Lillian Hellman’s Little Foxes and the song from Weeds that goes “little boxes on the hillside.”

20) What is your greatest weakness; your greatest strength?

Weakness: Caring too much about what others will think. Strength: Empathy.

21) Who is your celebrity crush?

Stanley Tucci.

22) Have you ever gone skinny dipping?

Yes.

23) How do you vent your anger?

I use a bunch of curse words.

24) Do you have a collection of anything?

I have a collection of movie ticket stubs that I only update sporadically.

25) Do you prefer talking on the phone or video chatting online?

Phone.

26) Are you happy with the person you’ve become?

I guess.

27) What’s a sound you hate; sound you love?

Hate: Airplanes flying over my house. Love: Page-turning.

28) What’s your biggest “what if”?

Right now my “what if’s” are all about the pandemic. Otherwise, I prefer to live in the now.

29) Do you believe in ghosts? How about aliens?

No to both, honestly. I believe there’s possibly life on other planets, but who’s to say whether they’re anything like us.

30) Stick your right arm out; what do you touch first? Do the same with your left arm.

My laptop screen for both.

31) Smell the air. What do you smell?

Nothing.

32) What’s the worst place you have ever been to?

Texas.

33) Choose East Coast or West Coast?

Maybe East Coast? Don’t have a strong opinion.

34) Most attractive singer of your opposite gender?

Probably Beyonce?

35) To you, what is the meaning of life?

Love.

36) Define Art.

Any form of creative expression (photography, writing, dance, painting, music, etc.) that inspires a distinct, stirring reaction from a spectator, whether in a positive or negative way.

37) Do you believe in luck?

Sometimes.

38) What’s the weather like right now?

Cloudy. Not too hot.

39) What time is it?

5:06 PM

40) Do you drive? If so, have you ever crashed?

I do. Never crashed, thankfully.

41) What was the last book you read?

The Shining by Stephen King

42) Do you like the smell of gasoline?

Ugh, no.

43) Do you have any nicknames?

No.

44) What was the last movie you saw?

Michael Clayton.

45) What’s the worst injury you’ve ever had?

Stepped on my foot sideways and possibly broke my right pinky toe. It was swollen and hurt to walk on.

46) Have you ever caught a butterfly?

No.

47) Do you have any obsessions right now?

Fantasy booking WWE.

48) What’s your sexual orientation?

Gay.

49) Ever had a rumor spread about you?

I don’t think so.

50) Do you believe in magic?

No.

51) Do you tend to hold grudges against people who have done you wrong?

I do my best not to. I sometimes find it harder to trust those people, but I try to love them to the best of my ability.

52) What is your astrological sign?

Virgo

53) Do you save money or spend it?

Save what I can.

54) What’s the last thing you purchased?

Gas.

55) Love or lust?

Why not both.

56) In a relationship?

No.

57) How many relationships have you had?

One.

58) Can you touch your nose with your tongue?

I can’t.

59) Where were you yesterday?

At my home. The same place I was today and tomorrow and the next day and the next day and the next day and the next day and

60) Is there anything pink within 10 feet of you?

The case for my DVD copy of Mean Girls is pink.

61) Are you wearing socks right now?

No.

62) What’s your favorite animal?

Dogs.

63) What is your secret weapon to get someone to like you?

Treat others the way you want to be treated.

64) Where is your best friend?

Not sure.

65) Spit or swallow?(;

Spit.

66) What is your heritage?

German. I also have a great-great-great grandmother who was Native American.

67) What were you doing last night at 12 AM?

Watching a movie.

68) What do you think is Satan’s last name?

Trump.

69) Be honest. Ever gotten yourself off?

Yeah.

70) Are you the kind of friend you would want to have as a friend?

There’s only one me. I have a lot of strong qualities that would make for a great friendship, but the key to being a good friend is accepting people for who they are.

71) You are walking down the street on your way to work. There is a dog drowning in the canal on the side of the street. Your boss has told you if you are late one more time you get fired. What do you do?

Save the dog. Explain what happened.

72) You are at the doctor’s office and she has just informed you that you have approximately one month to live. a) Do you tell anyone/everyone you are going to die? b) What do you do with your remaining days? c) Would you be afraid?

a) Probably.

b) Spend it with people I care about.

c) Probably.

73) You can only have one of these things; trust or love.

Love.

74) What’s a song that always makes you happy when you hear it?

"By the Way” by Red Hot Chili Peppers

75) What are the last four digits in your cell phone number?

****

76) In your opinion, what makes a great relationship?

Trust, communication, love.

77) How can I win your heart?

I have famously low standards, so you could so much as breathe a certain way and I’d be in love. lol

78) Can insanity bring on more creativity?

Almost certainly.

79) What is the single best decision you have made in your life so far?

Any good decisions I’ve made would be an oasis in a desert of bad ones. That being said, adopting my now-deceased dog would probably be up there.

80) What size shoes do you wear?

81) What would you want to be written on your tombstone?

If my mother could see me now.

82) What is your favorite word?

Wiggle.

83) Give me the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the word; heart.

My cousin’s heart condition.

84) What is a saying you say a lot?

Drive safe.

85) What’s the last song you listened to?

I was listening to Coldplay’s Viva La Vida album in its entirety.

86) Basic question; what’s your favorite color/colors?

Blue

87) What is your current desktop picture?

88) If you could press a button and make anyone in the world instantaneously explode, who would it be?

I don’t believe in blowing people up.

89) What would be a question you’d be afraid to tell the truth on?

Depends on who’s asking, but “Why are you sad? would be one.

90) One night you wake up because you heard a noise. You turn on the light to find that you are surrounded by MUMMIES. The mummies aren’t really doing anything, they’re just standing around your bed. What do you do?

I’d shit a brick.

91) You accidentally eat some radioactive vegetables. They were good, and what’s even cooler is that they endow you with the super-power of your choice! What is that power?

Invisibility. So many advantages.

92) You can re-live any point of time in your life. The time-span can only be a half-hour, though. What half-hour of your past would you like to experience again?

Storytelling Festival 2007. Orange backpack night. Don’t ask.

93) You can erase any horrible experience from your past. What will it be?

I don’t wanna say.

94) You have the opportunity to sleep with the music-celebrity of your choice. Who would it be?

Willie Nelson.

95) You just got a free plane ticket to anywhere. You have to depart right now. Where are you gonna go?

Private island with a year’s worth of supplies for me and everyone I love.

96) Do you have any relatives in jail?

I definitely have relatives who’ve been in jail. And one who’s at risk of being in jail.

97) Have you ever thrown up in the car?

I have! Trip to Disney World.

98) Ever been on a plane?

No, unfortunately.

99) If the whole world were listening to you right now, what would you say?

WEAR A DAMN MASK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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davewakeman · 4 years

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Talking Tickets 12 June 2020--AFL! MLB! Revenue! And, More!

Hey There!

Thanks for being here again this week. If you are enjoying this newsletter, tell your friends and colleagues to sign up by visiting this link.

If you aren’t a member of the Slack community, join now. Folks in 12 different time zones get together there to talk tickets and learn from each other.

How is it mid-June? How’s everyone holding up?

I’m relatively fine. Only relatively because if you’ve never seen a string of those 90+ DC summer days, you don’t know what a heatwave is.

Check out a special session I’m doing with Eric Fuller’s Rescue Meet serieson Tuesday, 16 June at 9 AM PST/12 PM EST. I’m leading his session on sales and marketing and we will be doing a little talky thing, but the core of the event is a 30-45 minute break out of my workshop where we are going to focus on rethinking our strategies, coming up with a diagnosis of the real challenge to tackle, and create some action items to move us forward. It is FREE, but you have to get an invitation by visiting the Rescue Meet website.

Don’t forget Happy Hour with me and my buddy, Ken Troupe, this afternoon at 5 PM EDT.

To the tickets!

————————————————————————————————————

1. Reopening in many shapes and forms:

We continue to power forward with the reopening of sports, at least. With concerts and other performances still in a place that lacks a lot of certainty or clarity for when things will be safe to return to normal.

While there are no fans, we will see La Liga return this week and the Premier League restart next week, even if I am going to have to wait a few more days to see Dele Alli.

For many venues, making the most of a bad situation has meant adjusting their business model to allow their venues to become drive-ins and gathering places of a different sort.

The NBA and MLS are going to Orlando in July and Orlando is going to get a moment in the spotlight, though if you haven’t heard of Orlando and Disney…I’m not sure what planet you’ve been on.

What will be curious is whether or not folks actually change their habits after sports comes back and further after folks can attend games. As with everything, the first rule of marketing is to remember that you aren’t your market and that folks often say one thing and do another.

The thing that is obvious is that we need fans in the stands, the Bundesliga has shown that fans matter to the atmosphere, home-field advantage, and…revenue, of course.

Any signs of progress are welcome.

I still would say that I’m cautious because it seems that the science points to an uncertain timeline around a vaccine and cases still building in a lot of places.

I was chatting with my friends in Tokyo about 10 days ago and they were mentioning that the cases were low and I saw this piece about masks in Japan. I think what a lot of us are missing is a clear direction that says “wear the mask because it helps reduce transmission, lessens community spread, and reduces the likelihood of more disruptive actions.”

Of course, I’ve also never realized how filthy too many people are with not washing their hands, covering their mouths when they are coughing and sneezing, and other stuff…

Anyway, continue to keep an eye on the reopening activities like starting up games and events with no or few fans like the AFL’s match with 2,000 fans in attendance. The performances of theatre around the world. And, how the virus is impacting other countries as they move through the different phases of reopening.

And, what do you think about Garth Brooks’s idea?

2. Revenue! Revenue! Revenue!

Somewhere along the line, I should have shared a piece I saw about how brands were discovering that a lot of their partnerships weren’t paying off.

Part of this is because folks weren’t really making the business case for sponsorship and relying too heavily on emotions and fluff.

The reality is that sponsorships is just one part of the larger revenue puzzle that will need to be reimagined coming out of the pandemic.

We are going to have to put our heads together and rethink a lot of the things that we have taken for granted or just “always done that way” like:

* Sales * Marketing * Customer retention * Customer service * Merchandise * Food and beverage

I can go on.

To achieve our revenue goals in the future, we are going to need to think through how we use technology, what our business models and processes look like, and many other things.

In fact, I think to see the industry of sports, the arts, and other forms entertainment continue to grow, we are going to have to see a much higher level of comfort with innovation become the norm.

In the arts and theatre, the unwillingness to change has popped up in the need for many organizations to try and figure how to become digital and offer digital solutions now.

Where was the urgency before a pandemic set in?

The same goes for the sports organizations that still rely on ~40% or more of their revenue from fans coming to the venue?

Why hasn’t the reinvention of the in-game business model been the number one priority?

I’ll tell you three things when I look at this:

First, we can’t get stuck in the way things have always been done. Obviously, no one can plan for a depression and a pandemic…but we really should be doing more risk planning and stress testing of our organizations so that we can be a lot more flexible in how we generate revenue and more secure in our business practices.

Second, right now is a great opportunity to rethink how you are doing business. In too many instances, I sit on webinars and Zoom calls where the gist of the conversation is about how quickly we can ramp back to “normal” and when I look at how many challenges and points of weakness that the industry was facing before the pandemic…I want to go, “Get back to normal? Are you kidding? That’s the best we can do?”

Maybe I’m just grumpy today? Or, maybe I’m just tired of watching the same bad habits get run on repeat.

You tell me!

3. How do businesses fall apart? Slowly at first, and then all at once…or how MLB is determined to miss a great opportunity to have the spotlight:

MLB seems to continue to move down a path towards no season…and it leaves a lot of folks scratching their heads.

Last week, I shared the story about the Cubs claiming that 70% of their revenue comes from having fans at their games. And, I’ve been adamant about the need to rethink business models, pricing structures, and the underlying approach to having folks at games as a way to make sure that attendance isn’t sacrificed at the foot of revenue…which is what is happening all too frequently now.

We also saw MLB lose Coca-Cola as a sponsor this week as well, due to “budgetary concerns” which is code for they don’t see the value of a partnership with someone they’ve been associated with, in a major way for a long time.

What’s even crazier is that baseball seems to spend a lot of time on ideas that would hurt their TV monies as well.

MLB, “call me, please!”

If I were an academic and not a marketer, I would have a paper out that would talk about how the economics of the baseball standoff mirror a lot of the challenges we are dealing with in the American and global economies as a whole…but I’m not so instead I’ll offer up these ideas for how baseball can move forward to salvage this season, but the long-term potential of the game.

First, let’s get a season with somewhere between 70-80 games, expanded rosters, and some sort of pro-rated salary for the players.

To quote Gary Adler, “the owners seem to be jumping over dollars to pick up dimes.”

If the nuclear bomb of no baseball season at any level goes off, I don’t really know that MLB recovers because despite “record” revenues, real attendance is crap, interest in the game isn’t that high, and the already aging fan base is only getting older.

To be clear, if the money saved by not paying minor league players and squeezing a few million out of the players is going to make or break your business…the sport has a much bigger problem.

Second, lay on the marketing as much as possible.

Someone asked me about what is being aired on the MLB network and why they weren’t showing a greater variety of stuff.

I don’t have the answer. I know marketing and not television…but there are so many historical games and so much historical footage, it seems like a missed opportunity to not share these things and give the generation of fans that are still diehard baseball fans the chance to share some of the things they love with folks that might not have experienced baseball in this way before.

4. What will saving the theatre and the arts look like?

In general, I’m a fan of offering public support to the arts because I think the arts are so important for doing a few things like helping us understand other folks’ point of view, explaining complex ideas, and bringing us together. That funding the arts seems like a value in a lot of instances.

In the United States, there are a few industry-led efforts to lobby the government for help for the live entertainment industry. I’m not holding my breath on action anytime soon. But I do appreciate the effort…it is necessary.

In the UK an idea is being floated to allow folks to invest in theatres.

Last week, I shared some of the things that Australia and New Zealand are doing to support the arts. And, this week, the German government has stepped in with a $1.13 billion dollar package to help get their countries arts and entertainment venues back up and running. These are really great starts to helping the industry get back up and running.

As a general topic, I’m concerned about the future of the arts coming out of the pandemic because we’ve seen the funding for the arts be whittled away in so many places.

But the bigger challenge as I mentioned in the revenue section is the need to reinvent our businesses and to rethink how we are marketing and selling our experiences.

The idea that the London Symphony Orchestra is offering up is novel with a shortened production and two performances a night to help maintain social distancing.

Over the last few weeks, we’ve seen a lot of folks share social distance mapping, even if I’ve felt like a lot of this was just ducking the hard work of thinking about how to actually create something that will bridge the gap between where we are now and where we need to get to in the future when we get the virus tamed and are able to have full capacity shows again.

I know we have to work to save the arts and theatre and here are a few suggestions:

First, we need to get some sort for the arts and artists at a government level. Full stop. These buildings are centers in our communities and the artists that make the arts are necessary for these investments to make art happen.

Second, saving the arts is a good time to rethink the relationship between the arts, the buildings, and the communities. We’ve become used to the idea that a stadium can revitalize a downtown area, whether or not that actually happens or not.

What about an opera house or an arts center?

If you’ve ever been to Sydney, you’ll know that the arts buildings are just as much gathering places as any stadium…maybe more so.

Right now is a great time to rethink the relationship between the buildings, the performances, and the community to allow them to take center stage as cultural homes and gathering spaces in the future.

I mean, look at the MoPop in Seattle.

You can experience that place inside and outside the building. Lincoln Center, the same. Insert your favorite here.

I don’t have a complete answer for how to use these buildings as indoor/outdoor community spaces going forward now, but I do think back to the concerts on the pier in Seattle during the summer. Or, the way that we’d have concerts for small groups in the Liquid Lounge at the EMP.

And, I recognize that it may be difficult to come up with a solution…there are opportunities.

More importantly, if we aren’t really pulling out all the stops…we may face a situation where many arts organizations do have such catastrophic losses that they can never recover.

Remember, this isn’t a fight that just the arts are fighting, nightlife, pubs, and other folks are all in similar positions and making sure folks fight for their industries is essential.

5. The AFL is in a good spot due to owning Marvel Stadium, but being creative with their revenue streams should be a priority:

File this one under, if you are nice to me, I love you…but I’m a fan of Marvel Stadium and the AFL.

As I’ve mentioned on many occasions, I look at the membership model that some of their clubs offer like Melbourne FC as something everyone around the world should be looking to emulate because it allows them to drive attendance and monetize their global market.

The article above talks about many of the leagues in Australia and how the AFL owning Marvel Stadium has allowed them to have a stronger position than other codes in Australia.

One of the frightening things for a lot of folks as they read through this piece is how the television broadcasters have used the pandemic and the shutdown period to drive down the prices of rights fees. At some point, I think that is a reckoning that a lot of folks are going to be dealing with and I’m certain that this is a scary idea because the expectation that Facebook or Amazon was just going to swoop in hasn’t materialized and I’m not sure if it will.

If you’ve been paying attention to the ongoing challenges Rugby Australia is dealing with, you’ll see that having assets that you can control and that can insulate you from the moment-to-moment ups and downs of business can be helpful in helping you avoid making short-term decisions that are potentially harmful in the long-run.

The truth is that the AFL is a window into the heart of what a lot of organizations in the arts, theatre, sports, concerts, and other live events are dealing with. And there are three things I think we can look to AFL CEO Gillon McLachlan as we head out into our week:

1. Recognize the human side of all of these struggles. Behind every decision are real people that have had their lives disrupted or worse.

2. Be creative. The AFL gained possession of Marvel Stadium when everything was great and this has enabled them to be more in control of their code as the pandemic has played out.

3. Make sure you focus on the right questions. The AFL recognizes that this season is a wipeout on profits and a lot of revenue, so instead of just trying to squeeze everything out of that…they are continuing to focus on recovery and growth. While it doesn’t take the short-term pain away, it does get the focus off of pain and panic and onto progress and positivity. —————————————————————————————————————-

What am I up to this week?

As I mentioned at the top of the program, I’m leading Eric Fuller’s Rescue Meet session on 16 June on sales and marketing. It is open to VPs and executives of organizations around the world and you can sign up for an invitation to the event on the Rescue Meet website.

I’m still at home…so I’m not visiting a city near you, yet. But if you want to chat about something or just need someone to chat to, let me know.

Get yourself some podcast episodes by going to my podcast landing page. I’m working on having some really great new guests around finance, marketing, and strategy…so something a little different than normal.

Check out my website and blog.

Please follow and like us:

Talking Tickets 12 June 2020–AFL! MLB! Revenue! And, More! was originally published on Wakeman Consulting Group

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kansascityhappenings · 6 years

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Joe’s Weather Blog: Someone is going to get a blizzard Sunday (THU-11/22)

Happy Thanksgiving…it’s not going to be record breaking warm…but it will be VERY nice but breezy out there today. The warmest Thanksgiving (remember the dates vary) was 70° back in 1998/1966 and 1896. The record high for today’s date (November 22nd) is 76 (!) back in 1966. Hey it could be worse…on Thanksgiving in 1923 we have over 9″ of snow!

We have rain in the forecast for Friday…and rain>snow expected on Sunday. As part of the weather “sandwich” though Saturday looks pretty darn good. The 2nd aspect of that forecast will be the challenge and my confidence continues to grow that somebody from the KC area northwards to the I-80 corridor region and eastwards to NW IL is going to get a blizzard. That does NOT mean we’re going to have a blizzard in KC…it means though that we’re on the somewhat southern fringe of this potential. Data continues to point towards the northern parts of MO…maybe northeast KS…SE NE and a good part of the southern half of IA as being in a more favorable spot for a travel headache. The issue is for any trend southwards…and IF that trend in the data develops…watch out…even in KC!

This doesn’t mean KC won’t have travel issues on Sunday…we may and with a combination of falling temperatures…wet to icy road conditions and the potential of falling heavy snow for at least a few hours…it may get very messy here to…oh and add in the increasing chance of 35-near 50 MPH winds into the equation as well. It doesn’t look pretty.

So with all that said…

Forecast:

Today: Great with highs in the 60s

Tonight: Not bad for late November with lows near 40°

Friday: Rain moving through the area…temperatures struggle with highs only in the 40s

Saturday: Nicer again with highs in the 60s

Sunday: Some rain (probably not a lot) transitioning to snow…potentially heavy snow in spots, especially from KC northwards. Temperatures in the 40s>30s with increasing 25-45 MPH winds later in the morning or in the afternoon. Road conditions may get very poor in parts of the area. Areas farther towards the SE of the Metro may not have as bad a travel impact as areas from KC northwards. This will be a changeable forecast as we get closer. Please pay attention to the changes here on the blog and on the air.

Discussion:

One of my goals every year…some years with more success than other years…is to put the Christmas lights out when I’m wearing shorts…this year the chances of that happening look pretty good I think…IF I can wait till the afternoon to get them out there.

Temperatures yesterday popped into the 60s…not too bad at all. we finished the day with temperatures about 5° above average…a rarity for this November for sure. We have another likely above average day on Saturday so IF you don’t get those lights out today…that is going to be a great day for doing that!

Rain is likely on Friday…won’t spend anymore time on that…aside from saying it’s going to be tough to get out of the 40s and the rain will be winding down later in the afternoon.

Onwards…

Sunday…

Oh boy.

What I’m confident in:

A significant winter storm with near>blizzard conditions will develop and move through the Plains. Travel impacts including the potential of closed interstates and major routes will exist. Where this all happens is obviously an unknown at this point BUT odds would favor the I-29 corridor…I-35…US 36…US 136 (northern MO) and the main roads into southern IA and potentially NE MO and NW IL.

Winds with this storm will rapidly increase…we’re looking at the potential of near 50 MPH winds from this rapidly developing storm as it moves through MO…these winds will rapidly increase in the KC area after sunrise on Sunday but probably before noon unless the storm slows down a few hours…which is possible. This is factor #1 in the road mess equation

Some rain (not a huge factor) but a huge factor for road treatments will occur before the cold air rushes…then there will be a flip to heavy wet snow…and then then snow (as the atmosphere gets colder) will start to become a drier and somewhat more fluffy snow. This is factor #2 in the road mess equation

Falling temperatures: We’re going to start the day with temperatures well into the 40s (we’ll probably have a 12AM high). Then when the colder air starts rushing in…combined with the 25-45 MPH developing winds…the temperatures will crasy…proably some 10-15 degrees in a matter of 1 hour or so (perhaps even faster). This is factor #3 in the road mess equation.

The roads may initially put up a fight because of the warm weather Saturday and the OK temperatures Sunday morning (for a few hours) but it won’t take long for those pavement temperatures to start tanking…obviously bridges and overpasses have issues first. The rain set-up leading into the snow set-up though may prevent a lot of pre-treating. This is factor #4 to a road mess developing.

There is going to be another sharp cutoff from the north to the south with snow amounts it appears. Why do I get a feeling a 0-8+” forecast won’t be crazy through the entire(!!!) viewing area! Does this mean 8″ for KC…no not yet…it means our area of responsibility goes up to the IA border and almost to the Lakes region to the south of KC.

There are also favorable jet dynamics revealing themselves to me…VERY favorable.

So those are items we’re confident in…

The issues that I’m NOT confident fully at this point in..is the track of the storm…especially where the surface low goes. Farther north…towards or near the I-70 corridor and we may get a few of the items involved above…but the snow would be shorter in duration and as a result lighter in totals. We could still get accumulating snow from that scenario though.

The model data overnight is still showing a favorable track for snow in KC…the EURO model is looking rather tasty for snow lovers…the is 6AM Sunday…

I wanted to show you the winds in the above map as well…not much in the morning…but by Noon we’re cranking away with 30-40 MPH gusts…or higher.

The NEW run of the NAM model this morning is also favorable��it actually has the low about 50+ miles a bit farther south…this would create more snow in the KC region…

Notice the slight shift south…this is concerning. That would place the area in a heavy part of the wrap-around (comma head) of a developing blizzard…again it’s just a model…and a 100 mile shift here or there would reduce that potential significantly…but IF you want a snowstorm…it’s a pretty good look.

I still won’t post snow maps though…it’s far too soon to get into that.

Note the differences in the AM run of the NAM and the overnight GFS model…these maps are valid at 6AM Sunday…the slider will show you the difference.

https://cdn.knightlab.com/libs/juxtapose/latest/embed/index.html?uid=94d693b0-ee68-11e8-9dba-0edaf8f81e27

Note the southern and slower solution to things…troubling. IF you don’t want the heavy snow in KC…you want a farther north solution…

So how much liquid is this translating to…again this type of map guidance will change significantly…but here are ONLY the 12 hour totals from 6AM Sunday>6PM Sunday…this WOULD NOT be all sticking snow in the KC area…notice how the NAM model is picking out the heavy comma-head aspect of the developing blizzard from southern IA to the 36 highway corridor.

One aspect of this that I wonder about though…is the farther south solution of the surface low from the NAM model that just came out a result of the cooler weather (that I think is wrong at this point) that it is forecasting for Saturday? Look at the map below…these are strictly raw model guidance temperatures…IF we’re in the 60s Saturday would that allow whatever surface low to be farther north on Sunday. In other words will Saturday determine Sunday’s weather. IF it’s cooler Saturday than what I’m thinking…near 50° or so instead of 60s…could that be a indicator for Sunday? The EURO has us in the mid 50s…and has the surface low farther north than the latest NAM model.

My initial thought on the NAM model is that this is indeed happening…that it’s not warm enough on Saturday and as a result it’s forcing the surface low farther south on Sunday.

Let’s see where the GFS goes later this morning…

I thought though I’d finish with this…the model gyrations..off the EURO model…for KCI.

You can see the ups and downs of the snow forecast…this is strictly a 10:1 snow ratio and doesn’t reflect melting or time periods of wintry mix adding up to little accumulation. So the above isn’t a perfect type of snow forecast either but it is interesting to see the changes from one run to the other.

Our feature photo comes from Matt Starr…

I’ll see you later tonight on FOX 4 News at 9/10 PM!

Joe

from FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV | News, Weather, Sports https://fox4kc.com/2018/11/22/joes-weather-blog-someone-is-going-to-get-a-blizzard-sunday-thu-11-22/

from Kansas City Happenings https://kansascityhappenings.wordpress.com/2018/11/22/joes-weather-blog-someone-is-going-to-get-a-blizzard-sunday-thu-11-22/

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theblogramblingritika-blog · 6 years

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Entering the world of escorting

31st, December 2008; a 20-year-old hyper excited girl woke up at 6 A.M - jittery with joy!

I remember that day like it was yesterday. I had come home to Delhi over my winter / Christmas college break from U.K. My parents, as almost always, weren’t in town; away on one of their unending business trips. More joy to me though, which meant I could throw some wicked parties and have friends over until late almost every day.

But that was not the plan for that day. I was excited because my best friend had gotten her hands on VIP passes to one of the swankiest New Year party in town. My head was going bonkers. Parties are a very big deal for us women. Makeup, dress, hair - it must be perfect. Delhi parties are a nightmare — everybody judges you on your looks.

I looked at my watch, it was only 7 a.m. “Damn it! Why won’t the time move faster?” I cursed out loud. I needed to go to the hair salon but that won’t open till 10 a.m. What am I to do? I headed to my indoor pool. Stripping out of night suit, I jumped into the warmed water of the pool naked. Nobody is home, why wear a swimsuit? The water calmed my nerves a bit. In no mood for any vigorous workout, I enjoyed an hour of slow backstrokes and then go out the pool and sat naked on the poolside chair.

A pack of Davidoff Mild was lying next to the chair. I lit a cigarette and inhaled the awakening fumes deeply. Yes, I know smoking kills but there are only a few joys in the world that compares to having the first cigarette of the day. Stubbing the cigarette, I went for a long shower and again checked my watch.

9:30 AM. It was time to head out.

My Blackberry had started to buzz. Seems like I was not the only girl losing her shit over the party. What to wear? How to do the hair? What shoes? Which car to drive? The BBM group was going crazy. I finally made it to the parlour for my 10 AM appointment.

Ah, such joy. So relaxing to get a nice head massage, getting your hair shampooed, conditioned, straightened and sculpted to perfection. I drove back home and cracked open a bottle of 2005 Australian Shiraz. Yes I know it is midday, but who gives a fuck. It is the day before New Year, I am entitled to get drunk whenever I want to!

Oh goodness! I looked at the bottled! Fuck! It was half finished and I swooned a bit. Drunk already? I hadn’t eaten much and the robust red wine hit me hard. Phone rang. I picked it up. Shivangi screamed from the other side, “RITIKA!!! It is fucking 4 PM already!! ARE YOU FUCKING READY??” The call brought me back to my senses! Damn! I had to get ready, the party starts at 7.

I stripped out of my t-shirt and jeans, threw away my bra and panty and ran naked to the walk-in closet. What to wear? What to wear? Times like this, a girl’s mind goes blank. My closet felt empty although in reality, it was overflowing. My fashion design teacher taught me well. She said when in need, it is always Valentino to the rescue.

What I wore was simply stunning. A black, off shoulder short chiffon dress from the Valentino 2008 winter collection which exposed my thin shoulder and neck and exhibited my toned slender legs. Underneath, I had a black satin Victoria’s Secret demi bra coupled with the tiniest black thong. For shoes, it was a pair dark grey Jimmy Choo.

I checked myself out in the mirror. Damn! I looked hot! I spun around with the confidence of a supermodel. Yes, if looks could kill, I would be a serial killer tonight. I sprayed a whiff of Chanel No. 19 on my neck and wrist and it was time for the evening to start.

Travel time from my house to the club was around 20 minutes. Party starts at 7 and the clock read 6:45. My friends were already there so I revved the engine and drove like a proper ‘Dilliwali’, doing 70-80 km/ h. Not that I am entirely proud of that.

I reached the hotel and my friends were standing at the entrance, starting at me furiously. I handed the car key to the valet and ran to them. “Let’s get this show started guys!”; I screamed and queued up to enter. At the entrance, we flashed out VIP passes and were quickly ushered away by the staff away from the crowd. We headed to the private area which looked incredible. It was quiet, the decor, classy. It had only a handful of people. I could hear some muffled music from the dance floor below

We had our own DJ who played to an audience of no more than 50. The music was groovy, the alcohol was flowing like water and we were dancing and grooving like there was no tomorrow. It was around 10 pm when I realized that I really needed a break. My legs hurt from the dancing so I left the club and went to the hotel lawn to get a moment of peace and quiet. Also, I badly needed a cigarette break.

It was dark in the lawn, illuminated sparsely by some low-level lights. I went and sat in the gazebo and lit a cigarette, drew in a long puff and closed my eyes as I let go of the smoke.

“That thing will kill you…”. A deep rugged voice spoke out and startled me, “…and it would be a shame to see a jewel like you disappear so soon”; he continued. I looked at a guy sitting opposite to me in the gazebo. DAMN! He was so handsome. Must be in his mid-40s, he looked rugged, just like I like my men to be. His face was chiselled with a hint of stubble. He wore a blue pinstripe suit and trousers and his bow tie hung loosely from his neck. He held a whisky glass in his hand and a cigarette burned between his fingers. Taking a sip from his glass, he asked, “Bored much? Parties aren’t really my thing.” I nodded like a bedazzled school girl.

I have been sexually active since the age of 16 and as a girl with a nice face and thin body, I had my way with boys and always managed to get them to do my bidding. But this man was out of my league. I knew I was being played and he wasn’t even trying.

I tried to make some small talk and he tried to look interested and then he suddenly stopped me as said, “40,000″.

“What”; I asked.

“Yes, 40,000 rupees to spend the night with me.”; he affirmed confidently.

“Excuse me!” I pretended to be offended. “Do I look like a prostitute to you?”

“No, but I am bored, you are bored. You are clearly feeling turned on so why don’t you say yes, and make some money from the evening?” he coolly stated.

I was dumbfounded. Yes, I was turned on. Turned on by his confidence and his audacity. Turned on by the fact that I was being made an offer to be a prostitute for a night. As the daughter of one the leading industrialist in the city, 40,000 didn’t mean much to me. It was literally change-money but the fact that I could get fucked and get paid for doing it made me feel incredibly dirty in a kinky sort of way. I felt a familiar tingling sensation between my legs. I bit my lips. I could feel my pussy getting moist.

“Yes. Let’s”; I said weekly, avoiding any eye contact with him. For the first time, I was feeling shy about sex. It was the most amazing concoction of emotions I had ever felt.

He held his hand out towards me. I gave my hand to him, getting up from the bench. He held my hand firmly and walked back to the hotel. Turns out he was staying in the same hotel where the club was situated. As we walked across the lobby, I avoided eye contact with anyone. I felt like a criminal but truth be told, nobody really cared on this busy New Year eve.

We got in the elevator. He pressed number 7 and the elevator began its upward journey. By now my legs were like jelly. I could barely stand. I was nervous. He sensed it. He wrapped his arm around my waist, and said, “Chill, I won’t hurt you.” I pretty much surrendered myself to him. I let him lead the evening.

Room 7021. That’s where he was staying. He slid in the key card and the door clicked open and lights turned on. He led me in and closed the door behind me and proceeded to dim the lights of the room. I was breathing shallowly while he looked confident. He came close to me, put his arms around me and said, “let’s not play around, shall we?”.

His hands slid down my back, seeking the zipper of my evening dress. He slid it down and with a confident tug near my waist, my entire dress slid down, dropping on the floor crumpled around my leg.

Normally I am immensely confident of my body. I loved exposing but that night, I felt strangely naked and vulnerable. I stood there awkwardly in my black bra, thong and shoes.

“Wow! What a beauty”; he said admiringly. “Now let’s get you in the right mood”; he winked at me.

He held my hands again and drew me close to him tight and planted a firm deep kiss on my lips. His tongue slid effortlessly into my mouth and I had no intentions of resisting him. Oh God! He was such a great kisser.

One of his hand squeezed my ass and another groped my breasts roughly. It was a full-on sexual assault and I was loving every moment. My pussy responded almost immediately and the floodgates of pussy juices opened. I had never even been so wet before.

He continued to grope me, feel me, lick me, kiss me and eventually, his hand slid inside my thong and his warm fingers made their way to my soaking wet pussy. He pulled his finger out and sniffed it deeply.

“Someone is beginning to get naughty”; he grinned at me wickedly. By now, I was horny without any bounds. I was getting comfortable and gaining the confidence in the situation.

I looked at his crotch and saw a huge bulge in his pants. Looking at him I answered wickedly, “someone is feeling a bit trapped, ay?”

I searched for his zipper and slid it down and then slide my hand under his underwear and felt his hot thick penis. As I touched his penis, he let out a loud “aah”. He was feeling the pleasure! He closed his eyes.

“Shall we do something about this?” I asked him like a cheap slut. He was enjoying every bit of it. I started pushing him and pushed him till I made him sit on the chair. I pulled down his pants and underwear to his knees and then proceeded to unbutton his shirt. I exposed his slightly hairy and hard chest and then like a pro, I started licking him, starting at his neck, down his chest, lower, I reached his stomach, I went lower, I reach his pubes and then my mouth finally makes its way to his cock.

His cock was big with a nice girth. I took it into my mouth completely and start working my magic. My lips wrapped firmly around his cock and I slowly bobbed my head up and down, up and down, up and down.

Now it was my turn to be in control. He closed his eyes and just sat there speechless, clearly in sexual heaven. I unhooked my bra while I continued giving him a blowjob. I reached out and held his hand and guided it to my breasts. Oh! I just love it when a guy squeezes my boobs while I suck him.

Both of us were in heaven by then.

“Ritika! Stop…stop!!” he screamed. “I am going to cum”.

“Cum inside my mouth”; I said, like a proper street hooker.

“No! I want your pussy”, he said and saying that he leapt up, threw away his pants, underwear, shirt. He picked me up effortlessly and dropped me like an animal on the bed.

His huge penis was throbbing. I wanted it inside my pussy. I wanted to be fucked like a bitch. I wanted him to ram his hot rod into my wet hungry pussy.

He slid a Durex ultra-thin over his cock and got on top of me. We weren’t in the mood for any kissing or lovemaking. What we wanted was pure raw hard fucking.

He positioned his cock at the entrance of my pussy and with a hard effortless push, it slid completely inside me.

FUUUUCK! Oh FUCK! It was amazing. I was beyond any control and so was he. He waited for a second and then started thrusting his cock inside me like a steam engine. Hard, rough, in and out, in and out. My boobs bounced up and down and he would take small breaks to bite my nipples or squeeze it or suck it. He was fucking me real rough. I lost all senses, I didn’t know where I was, what date it was, what time it was. The only thing I was aware of was his mammoth cock penetrating in and out of my pussy.

I was screaming and moaning in joy. OHH! OHHH! OHHH!! AAAHHHH!!! when suddenly my phone rang loudly. I looked at it. The caller ID read “mom” and the time read 00:00 hrs, 1st Jan, 2009.

What do I do? I had to take the call but there was no possible way I wanted the sex to stop.

“Don’t stop but be quiet”; I told him as I hit the answer button.

“Happy new year darling”; I heard my mother’s voice from their side. I wished her happy new year and proceeded to have a normal 2 minutes conversation with my mother and father while my client continued to fuck me like a piston. This felt so wrong and yet so right.

Hanging up, I refocused on the sex. The relentless pounding continued and my body began to tighten. Suddenly, I screamed out loud … “OOOOOHHHHH FUCCCCCCKKKK!!!!” and my pussy tightened around his cock as I had the most intense orgasm of my life. My entire body shook like an earthquake but he didn’t stop. He wasn’t done yet and he wanted his money’s worth.

A few minutes later, he said, “get ready Ritika, I’m gonna cum!”.

“Don’t waste your cum inside the condom”; I screamed and he quickly slid his cock out of my pussy and removed the condom. We rapidly exchanged positions, just like a cliched porn flick. He got on his back while I leapt up and reached for his cock. I grabbed his cock real hard, put my lips over the head and started rubbing it very fast and within seconds I heard his loud groan while thick white hot cum screamed out of his cock and entered my mouth. I swallowed his salty hot cum hungrily.

We both collapsed on the bed. We lay there for a few minutes, completely covered in sweat. A bit of his cum trickled out from the side of my mouth. My heart was beating so hard that my entire body shook with every beat.

I was satisfied, he was satisfied.

I got up to go to the bathroom to wash up, clean my mouth and get dressed. By the time I got out of the bathroom, he had gotten dressed. He was wearing his night suit and signalled me to a thick envelope on the table. I picked it up and there was cash in it. I didn’t bother counting.

He made it clear that he didn’t want me hanging around and I was more than happy with this arrangement. We exchanged phone numbers and he promised to get it touch when he would come to Delhi again. I smiled, he hugged me and we said goodbye.

I made my way back to the club. My senses were readjusting to the dancing and music. I spotted my friend on the dance floor and went up to her and started grooving again. She was a bit drunk, she looked at me and said, “Ritika, where the fuck were you?”.

“I had just gone out for a smoke break.”; I replied, with a wicked grin on my face.

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gastro-nomique · 7 years

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Modern, Minimalist Mom Capsule Wardrobe – Year 3

My minimalist mom capsule wardrobe was so popular the last two years (and made dressing each day so fun and easy) that I couldn’t help do it again this year. Only a little bigger and even better.

Every piece here is a proven winner– that shirt, cardigan, hoodie, and pair of jeans that you’ll reach for again and again. The ones that you love to wear and can be worn a millions different ways. These are the items that keep us comfortably chasing the kids all day- cotton, denim, and sneakers- done in such a laid-back-chic way.

The result is a high-performing, workhorse of a wardrobe that will give you an effortlessly cool look every day of the week.

Plus, for the first time ever, the ENTIRE WARDROBE is from the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale so you have the opportunity to save big.

If you’re already a Nordstrom card holder, you can shop the sale now! If not, you’ll get your chance to shop these sales on Friday, July 21st. If you want to get in on these finds you have to hurry, though, items are selling out rapidly and the sale is ending soon.

Classic Tops

Free People Split Back Turtleneck

$68, Now $44.90

This looks so cozy and I love that it’s edgy while being totally covered up. I would wear it with both jeans and yoga pants (win!) and layered with a simple tank like this favorite also on sale!

Hunter Plaid Shirt

$148 Now $99.90

I always have to have at least one quality plaid (I’m from Seattle, are you surprised?) Plus, so great for layering under vests and sweaters… But they aren’t all equal and the drape and material of this one are top notch.

Make + Model Brushed Hacci Sweatshirt

$45 $29.90

I love me a stylish sweatshirt! Because honestly, if I can wear sweats all day and still look good, I’m gonna do it! This looks extra, extra soft and would be a great staple please- especially at this amazing price.

Lush Raw Edge Side Slit Tee

$24 Now $15.90

I’ve come to despise basic straight bottom tees. Why? Because they can make any outfit look dowdy. This twist on the boring basic tee is a great way to up your style points on any outfit you put together.

Pants

PAIGE Hoxton High Waist Ankle Skinny Jeans

$189 Now $99

I’ve been looking for some darker wash jeans to wear to girls’ nights and date nights and with this discount, it’s kinda impossible to resist.

Everyone I know adores Paige jeans and I’m no exception. They are the first luxury brand jeans I started buying regularly because I know they will last and I’ll get more than my money’s worth. Plus, they make me feel great when I wear them and this high-waisted design will be especially slimming!

PAIGE Transcend Hoxton High Waist Undone Hem Skinny Jeans

$199 Now $131.90

Speaking of Paige jeans, this pair is at the absolute top of my wish list. I wear A LOT of jeans (like every day that I’m not wearing yoga pants the 9 months of the year it’s not sunny here). So when I find a pair that gives me a chance to show off a little flair without going crazy, I get excited.

The slanted hems are really cool (I like them so much better than the step hem that is popular right now) and I could see wearing these while volunteering at school as well as for date night making them super versatile.

Note: If you’re looking for a more straight-laced black jean, check out this pair of Instasculpt skinny jeans also on sale- because who doesn’t want to be instascupted?!

Zella Live In Slim Fit Leggings in Grey Graphite

$59 Now $38.90

As I said, I wear almost exclusively jeans and yoga pants in cooler weather and the only yoga pants I wear are Zella. I ALWAYS stock up during the #NSale too because of the great prices.

The thickness of these pants makes me always feel sucked in and sleek without feeling compressed if you know what I mean. I’m excited to add this grey graphite pair to the rotation.

Zella All In Ankle Leggings

$75 Now $49.90

Although I’ve seen the high waist Zella leggings (on sale for $35) featured by a ton of fashion bloggers this year. I still prefer the mid-rise, ankle cut (the high rise just makes my hips and stomach look weird).

I like that these are a subtle upgrade of the basic black tight too.

Sweaters

Free People Electric City Pullover Sweater

$98 Now $64.90

Maybe it’s because I’m a child of the 80s but I just can’t resist a comfy sweater to curl up in front of the fire with a good book in. This one is so pretty and doesn’t look bulky or scratchy, both of which are a total must.

Billabong Snuggle Off the Shoulder Sweater

This is probably the edgiest of my picks. I wouldn’t wear it during my normal day-to-day but I love it for fall or winter date nights. It’s just sexy enough to make it special.

Gibson Bell Sleeve Cozy Fleece Pullover

$59, Now $39.90

The bell sleeves on this top are so feminine and current, who would guess it’s made of fleece?! Did I mention how much I like to be comfortable?

Note: If you like this sleeve, definitely check out this super fun top for nights out – now 40% off!

Layering Pieces

Caslon® Mixed Print Open Front Long Cardigan

$89, Now $49.90

I have picked up a long cardigan with a cool design at each of the last couple sales and I always get so many compliments on them. This is definitely the one for this year.

Love Token Faux Shearling Vest

$120, Now $79.90

I’ve been eyeing faux shearling vests like this since last year’s sale but just couldn’t decide if I was edgy enough to be able to rock one. The knit back of this one makes it feel more accessible to me for some reason and it just looks so ridiculously comfy!

Vince Camuto Contrast Trim Quilted Vest

$118, Now $58.90

Is there anything better than a quilted vest on a crisp and cool fall day? They are so wonderful for staying warm (something I struggle with) and I really love the interesting contrasting colors and gold details on this one. It’s a total stand out amongst the standard quilted vest and it’s 50% off!!

BLANKNYC Chill Pill Cardigan

$88, Now $57.90

This contrasting cardigan is another super warm item that you can wear with anything. It’s also a unique piece that not every other mommy at school pick up will be wearing. Such a good find.

Athleisure Tops

Brunette Fries Before Guys Sweatshirt

$79, Now $51.90

I love a soft sweat shirt for cool evenings, to pair with yoga pants while on the go, or for lounging around in once I’ve changed into my PJs around 6 pm (I’m not the only one who does this am I?).

Also, if you have daughters they NEED to see you casually rocking this, like every day. Let’s make not so subliminal messaging work for us guys!

The North Face Hooded Fleece Pullover

$99, Now $69.90

If your kid has an outside sport, this is the top you must buy! Take it from this Pacific Northwesterner, cozy plush fleece is luxuriously warm – especially when layered under a coat on a cold and windy field. Treat yourself, you won’t be sorry.

Nike Gym Zip Hoodie

$60, Now $36.98

This vintage zip hoodie is so light-weight and soft that it feels like butter. I think I wore it every day for two weeks straight when I first got it. Great for moderate weather as well as layering when it gets cooler.

Zella Drop the Armhole Tank

$39

I have a confession to make; although I love running around in yoga pants and I think the athleisure trend was maybe one of the best things to happen to me, I still have trouble figuring out what to wear with them.

I’m a fan of the half tuck when I wear jeans so I often feel like untucked tees and tanks with my yoga pants look a little off. That’s why I included this tank from Zella even though it’s the only item in the capsule not currently on sale. The tie in the front gives this casual top just enough structure and I love the effect.

Finishing Pieces

UGG Elvia Waterproof Tall Boot

$249.95, $164.90

These waterproof boots look like such work horses – perfect in the snow and slush but also super cute with skinny jeans or black Zellas – all while being ridiculously comfortable – what can’t they do?

Converse Jack Purcell Signature Ox Low Top

$69.95, Now $45.90

I am so smitten with the color of these iconic shoes. Not white but Platinum. They’ll give your outfit the polished look of a white shoe but be a lot easier to keep clean. Sold!

Nike Juvenate SE Sneaker

$95, Now $70

Speaking of iconic shoes, snagging a discounted Nike in basic black, which I can wear with everything while running around all day, is kinda a must for me. The softness of this one is what sold me.

TOMS Deia Block Heel Bootie

$97.95, Now $64.90

Last year I bought a similar pair of gray Toms boots during the sale and I could not believe how comfortable they turned out to be. Having chronic back problems means I only do heels rarely.

I bought my Toms boots with the idea of wearing them to date nights when I intended to be sitting most of the time. Much to my delight, I found they are comfortable enough to walk around in for extended periods of time- whoo hoo!

Sperry Saltwater Spray Wedge Waterproof Rain Boot

$129.95, Now $84.90

For the days when the Ugg boots are overkill, a good pair of Sperry boots are my go tos. I got mine last year during the sale and wore them almost every day during the winter. So00 cute and easy to wear, love ’em!

Halogen® Asymmetrical Zip Boiled Wool Blend Coat

$199, Now $129.90

Last but not least, the most exciting coat I’ve seen in years. Finally, something that I can wear during the day or out at night that’s more than a pea coat! I just love the cut of this coat as well as the colors it comes in – both the grey dove and the black are gorgeous.

Note: A shorter thermal jacket from the North Face like this is great for running around too. I got mine two sales ago and still wear it constantly.

So that’s it!! Whew, what a list! I hope you find something (or many somethings) to love here and that you’re able to act in time to get a great deal!

*Post contains affiliate links.

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