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taylorinthetardis · 3 years

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Wallflowers - A Henry Cavill x Reader fic

So I did a thing! Rather than continue to work on my larger, more complicated Pride and Prejudice fic, I decided to make a fanfic out of the fantasy I had at work the other day!

There will most likely be a part two to this, I just thought I was at a good stopping point and wanted to see what you guys thought about it.

Full disclosure: I didn’t mean for this to whole ass turn into a Bath and Body Works ad, but it kinda did. For those of you reading in countries that do not have Bath and Body Works, its basically just a body and home care store. In the US their scents are legendary. Pretty much every young girl went through a BBW phase where that was all they used for soap and perfume. That all being said, in the interest of further disclosure and covering my ass, I own neither Bath and Body Works nor any of the trademarks on the scents listed herein. I also do not own Henry Cavill because owning human beings is a crime.

This is my first Henry fic so be gentle with me! It’s a bit longer than I had anticipated and un-beta’d.

Warnings: just a lot of fluff. some self-deprecation. loads of swearing. don’t know if I should warn for slight bashing of the religious but I will anyway so no one gets mad at me.

Wallflowers

It was shaping up to be another boring ass day at Bath and Body Works. I had started working here during the Pandemic after I was laid off from my job at the movie theatre. I had planned on it only being temporary, but even after things got better and I got my theatre job back, I decided to stick around. What can I say; a bitch is broke. Nothing wrong with double-dipping.

There was something about Sunday mornings in the mall. Probably because people around here still went to church in the mornings. Like it matters. Sunday mornings are always so slow, here and at the theatre, but the day always picks up after 1, when morning church services finish. It was me and Samantha up in the front room this morning, working out the leftover boxes from yesterday’s shipment. She was one of the first people I really bonded with here, both of us being super into both Marvel and DC, specifically Sebastian Stan and Henry Cavill. They had just started filming the next Superman movie and they were going to be shooting scenes up in Michigan again, like they had for Dawn of Justice.

“I’m just saying, we should really consider asking for a few days off and just going up there and scoping it out. I mean, it’s Henry fucking Cavill. He’s less than an hour away from us. Right now. Less than an hour. When is that ever gonna happen again? I can use some of my vacation time at the theatre, so at least I’m not missing out on money from them. It’ll be a blast. I mean, what’s the worst that can happen? We don’t see him? I mean at least we’d have tried. I’d rather try than stay down in stupid Ohio with the knowledge that he’s that close.”

“Do you really think Ann’s going to give us time off to stalk Superman?”

“We ain’t gonna tell her what it’s for! Just lie, c’mon now.” I laughed. I dropped a box of Gingham body cream into the understock drawer and broke the box down. Out of the corner of my eye I caught movement, oh goodie, a customer. Samantha was quicker to greet them.

“Welcome to Bath and Body… OH MY GOD!” I turned around and was met with the sight of none other than Henry fucking Cavill, sheepishly running his hand through his now jet-black curls, obviously embarrassed at having been recognized. Damn, am I glad I put make-up on this morning. Alright Y/N, this is your fucking chance. For once in your damn life, be fucking cool. You can do this. You look good, you smell like Champagne Toast, you’ve got this. I pulled my hair down from its messy bun and shook it out a bit before walking over to where Samantha was still trying to collect herself. The store radio started playing Halsey’s Bad at Love and I had to bite my lip to stop myself from bursting out laughing at the absurdity of the situation we were now in. Not five minutes ago we were talking about seeking him out and now here he was in all his brick-shithouse-ness. I looped my arm through Samantha’s in a show of support.

“What a wonderful coincidence! We were just talking about you and now here you are! It’s crazy how the universe works, isn’t it? I’m Y/N, this is Samantha; what can we help you with today, Henry?” I smiled my most adorable smile at him, the one that makes my little cheek dimple pop out, and, honestly, they both looked shocked. Samantha was clearly surprised that I was more capable of speech than she was, and to be honest so was I, and Henry seemed shocked that I would openly admit that we had been talking about him before he got there, which probably wasn’t a great thing to say, but I panicked.

“Well, I was told this was the best place to go for candles and air freshener-y type things. The house I’m renting just has this odd odour that I can’t get rid of. I’ve been airing it out during the day, all the windows open, and I come home and it still smells funky. I know I could just find a different place, but it’s close to a park and that’s been nice for Kal and I don’t want to make a fuss, so…” Henry sort of shrugged, the buttons on his plaid shirt straining with the movement of his broad shoulders, and gestured around the store as if to say “that’s why I’m here”.

“Well, you’ve definitely come to the right place. All of our home care is in the second room, grab a basket, I’m sure we can find you some scents you’ll like.” He walked over to the basket tower to grab one as a couple more customers walked in. Samantha nudged me towards the second room; I was going to have to handle Henry alone for now, it seemed. He followed me over to the Wallflower wall. “So, these are our Wallflowers. They’re sort of like the Glade Plug-ins, I don’t know if you’ve seen those, you plug this diffuser into any power outlet and screw the fragrance bulb in and it diffuses the scented oil into the room. They last for about a month or so. These’ll probably be the best option for you, well these and maybe a room spray or two to start with. The candles are good, but obviously the scent is gonna be strongest when they’re burning and it’s probably not a great idea to light a bunch of candles and then leave for the whole day.”

He chuckled. “No, I’d say you’re right about that. I definitely don’t want to burn the place to the ground. Are there any scents that you’d recommend?”

“Well, I mean, it obviously all depends on your personal preferences. I like sweet scents. I like my space to be smelling like a bakery or a candy shop at all times, so I tend to go for anything like that. We actually still have some of our holiday scents that we’re trying to get rid of and there’s this really great one in that line called Spiced Apple Toddy. It smells like apple pie. I love it. It’s only out during fall and winter so I stocked up. I need it all year long, honestly. I still have so many other scents at home, but like I’m probably never gonna get sick of it, for real, it smells so good. Or I might go every other month swapping between that and Black Cherry Merlot because that’s awesome too. And then there’s Champagne Toast, I mean, that one might be a bit too feminine for you, but I love it. It’s sweet and just a tiny bit citrusy. I can’t do any of the floral or like, outdoorsy scents, they set my allergies off. And honestly there’s some of these that I smell them and I’m like, who is putting this in their house? Like, what nutjob thinks this scent is good? How many people have senses of smell that are this screwed up?” At this point I was rambling, talking excitedly and with my hands, handing him testers to smell and trying to gauge his reactions to know what to hand him next. He didn’t have any bad reactions to anything I gave him until I handed him the tester for Fresh Balsam. His nose scrunched up in the most adorable way and he very carefully set the tester down on the counter as far from him as he could manage. He handled my word-vomit good-naturedly, with a small smile on his face, nodding and chuckling when he thought something I had said was funny. Our fingers brushed a few times as I handed him the testers and after the third time, I began to feel like it was deliberate on his part, but it couldn’t have been, could it? He couldn’t really be interested in me. He’s Henry Cavill. I’m just, well, I’m just me.

Me, with my two minimum wage jobs, still living with my parents, inching ever closer to 30 years old. Why would he want any of that? Why would he be interested in me physically either? I mean, he’s literally flawless and I’m short, overweight, I eat like shit, I don’t exercise, hell, I barely know how to put on make-up correctly. Yeah, I look good today, but that’s not par-for-the-course.

He put a few each of Cinnamon & Clove Buds, Black Cherry Merlot, Limoncello (for the bathrooms, he said), and Laundry Day (for the laundry room, obviously) in his basket along with enough of the plugs so he’d have one in each room. He also grabbed a Black Cherry Merlot and a Limoncello room spray off the shelf next to the Wallflower display before turning back to me. “So then, where do you keep this Spiced Apple Toddy that you like so much, or did you hide them so you could have them all to yourself?”

I chuckled nervously and ran my hand through my hair, sort of disbelieving that he was actually paying attention to what I had said. Boys never listen to me when I talk, I always have to repeat myself, but I guess that’s because I usually end up talking to the dumb ones. Henry’s not dumb. He really is just fucking perfect, isn’t he? Pretty and he listens? That shouldn’t be such a difficult combination to find, but for me it had been. “They’re on the table over here with the rest of our leftover Christmas stuff. Hopefully the tester is still there somewhere.” I put my hands in my apron pockets and I could feel the jolt of confidence I had had just minutes before leaving my body. His charm had worn me down, bringing me back to my normal, anxiety-ridden self. I caught the toe of my boot on the corner of one of the other tables as we walked towards the center of the room. I stumbled, but before I could fall his arm was already out to steady me, wrapping around my waist to keep me upright.

“Are you alright Y/N?” A look of genuine concern was on his face and I swear to God I swooned. Like, fuck, I just stubbed my stupid toe, it’s not that serious. I mean yeah, I stubbed my toe and then almost fell into a table covered with candles in glass holders, but like, I didn’t fall, you caught me, please stop looking at me like you care. You can’t give me that much hope. It isn’t fair. And goddamnit I love the way my name sounds coming out of your mouth. Like, fuck it’s never sounded so good. This isn’t fair, why is this happening?

“Yeah, Henry I’m fine, just a stubbed toe. Thank you for…you know.” I gestured down to his arm, which was still around my waist. The sound of me bumping into the table drew the attention of the rest of my co-workers, however, who were now coming out of their various positions to see what was going on and to make sure no one had broken anything. Samantha popped her head in from the front room and Kelynn and Mira came out from the cashwrap with Pilar and walked to the edge of the third room to peek in. All they saw was me, blushing profusely, with Henry Cavill’s beefy-ass arm still wrapped around my fucking waist. “Everything’s fine guys. I promise.”

“Holy shit, is that…”

“Mira!”

“But Kelynn that’s fucking Superman!”

“You can’t cuss in front of him Mira, he’s a customer!”

“Will you guys cut it out? You’re embarrassing us in front of the hunky British dude!”

“Hey, I’ve got an idea. How about we all pretend like this isn’t happening right now? Pilar can go back to the cashwrap, you two can go back to whatever it was you were doing, and I’ll go back to what I was doing, namely making a damn sale!” I extricated myself from Henry’s grasp so I could shoo them back towards the cashwrap. They turned and walked away, bewildered looks on their faces. I turned back to Henry who was shifting awkwardly from foot to foot, clearly uncomfortable. He cleared his throat and ran his hand through his curls, leaving them messier than they were before. An errant one fell over his forehead and I wanted to brush it out of the way, but he just left it.

I walked over to the table that I was originally heading for and found the Spiced Apple Toddy Wallflowers. There wasn’t that many left, but there was still a tester. I grabbed it and spun around to bring it to him, assuming he hadn’t followed me, but as I turned, I found myself going face first into his massive chest. I put my unoccupied hand up to steady myself and pushed on his chest to force him back. He was just too close. Why was he so close? He opened his mouth to say something but I beat him to it. “Here. This is what I have in my bedroom right now, this is Spiced Apple Toddy.” Oh god, why did I say it like that? The one I have in my bedroom. Jesus Christ. He quirked his eyebrow at me and cocked his head to the side, smirking a little. Instead of taking the tester from me, he took my much smaller hand in his, guiding it up towards his face so the tester was close to his nose. He closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. A serene smile spread across his face and I felt my face get hotter. He opened his eyes, looking down into mine. Fuck I could drown in those ocean eyes.

“Oh, I like that very much. You were right. I think that one’s my favourite.”

#henry cavill #henry cavill fanfic #henry cavill x reader #my first henry fic #fluff #unintentional bath and body works ad #be gentle

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andyuris · 3 years

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So , your character works in retail .

I don’t know how many people go into detail when talking about what their character does for a living but I got this random idea to make a bit of a tips list when it comes to working retail especially if you’ve never worked retail before . This is coming from my own experience working retail for the last , I don’t know , 3+ years or so . If you find this helpful at all , give this post a like or a reblog .

The idea that someone is going to be fresh out of high school , come onto the scene at retail , and become manager is rare . The youngest I’ve seen a manager ( which the word can mean a lot of things : merchandising manager , key holder , etc ) is 22 . So just , you know , be realistic .

Age ranges vary . When I worked at Five Below , I worked with my GM ( general manager ) who was in his 40′s , the managers who came and went varied by age generally between young 20′s to mid 30′s , and the rest of us ? I would say most of us were in late teens / early 20′s . However , there were also a few teens that worked there and by teens , I mean minors . And no offense to minors , but working with minors is annoying as hell ESPECIALLY when it comes to scheduling . Minors can only work certain times and when it’s busy season ( holiday season ) , they get to peace the fuck out while you’re left breaking your back until one in the morning . You can use this for comments your character has about their job considering playing minors is weird so don’t do that .

Full time probably isn’t gonna be a thing , maybe . It depends on your job description , the place of employment , etc ( note : you might be able to get away with this more when it comes to convenience stores and grocery stores . A lot of them look for full time associates / produce associates ). MOST retail workers are part time meaning they get less than 40 hours a week and again , depending on the factors above , you’re probably looking at 20 or less hours a week give or take . Hours increase during the busy season ( generally around the holidays ) . But again , full time and part time depends . You can also be a part time manager where you’re getting probably 35 hours . You also get double your pay if you’re working a holiday ( Thanksgiving , Christmas Eve , etc ) . Some of your stock & produce associates are most likely going to be full time and I’m saying some .

THE PAY GENERALLY SUCKS . Granted , I’ve been lucky and some characters can be lucky too . Each job I’ve had in retail has paid above the minimum wage and I believe that varies from state to state . Five Below sucked the most until I became a manager . The non-profit I worked for was a little better. At my current position , I’m making the same amount i made as a manager at Five Below although less hours . You’re doing a lot of work for basically dust which is where a lot of retail worker frustration comes in .

We LOVE some customers but hate others . I have a few frequent costumers that I adore when they come in . These are the people I generally have conversations with . Others ? I don’t like them . None of us like them . We talk shit about them when they leave because they’re generally big assholes . I put on my costumer service voice for them and I get them through my line as quickly as possible .

Some managers are great , others aren’t . I do feel like when it comes to rp it’s a lot easier to say your character hates their boss and that probably brings more to conversation but not all of them are bad ! I’ve enjoyed most of my managers , or at least my General Managers .

Okay so , I don’t know if this is against customer policy , but sometimes , you get to take shit home from work . WHAT DO I MEAN BY THIS ? At a job I worked at , as a manager , we would do damages . Damages is basically shit that got broken in the store and we have to adjust that shit out . You know what sucks ? Having an item that has some minor ass flaw and having to throw it in the garbage . So yeah , we would sometimes take that stuff home although it was usually make up .Some of it was candy and shit . I remember a case got stepped on and my manager was like ‘ take it out and take it home if you want to ‘ . So yeah. Make your character’s make up collection work related ! They got that shit for free .

Holiday season is crazy . It’s long hours , a lot of people , and a lot less time being at home chilling . Your character might hate their lives during this part of the year . I know I did .

We talk a lot of shit . I think this can happen really with any job . Retail workers vent . We vent to each other . We vent to other retail workers who don’t even work at the same store as us because we all generally understand what we go through when it comes to our jobs . Is there another character in the rp working in retail ? TALK SOME SHIT .

Last but not least , as sad as it is to say , in retail , you are , without a doubt , replaceable . A lot of people working in retail think because they do so much that somehow the store is going to burn to the ground without them or that they will never get fired because who can stock the way that they do??? Let me tell you : A LOT OF PEOPLE . They’ll be interviewing someone for your position before you even make it out the door . So , yeah , want to spice things up for your character ? Are they the kind of people that think they’re entitled ? Then this may be a route to take at some point .

#rpt

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theshortkid · 4 years

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So I went to Panera this morning and was ready to order my usual stuff when the woman behind the counter tells me they can’t make any lattes this morning.

Not to worry, I assured her, I’ll take a cappuccino instead.

She smiled awkwardly and said that their espresso machine is also broken and that they could only make cold brews.

At this point I was also feeling awkward because I’m not a coffee person and don’t know what that means but I simply smiled and asked for a hot chocolate, which luckily they had.

Anything else? This poor woman asked.

Could I have an everything bagel with cream cheese?

We both looked behind her at the baskets of bagels where there were, you guessed it, no everything bagels left. I quickly chose another one and paid for my order.

As the cashier was handing me my change, I said, very cheerfully and sincerely, thank you so much!

The woman laughed a little and gave me an odd look. You didn’t get anything you wanted, she reminds me.

Maybe, I thought, but that’s not your fault. Why should I be a poor customer because of something that you can’t control? Aside from not having what I ordered, you provided me with polite service and were very patient when I kept ordering things that weren’t available.

I shrugged, smiled, and thanked her again, leaving to find my seat but the whole experience made me think. The cashier was a middle aged woman, probably in her 40s or 50s. She was definitely a part of the generation that stereotypically becomes vocally frustrated when things don’t go their way in customer service. And here I was thanking her when I literally hadn’t received a single item I wanted to order. In her mind, that probably warranted at least some aggravation.

I’ve had lots of experiences with millennials and gen z when it comes to customer service, on both sides of the proverbial counter. I’ve also dealt with a lot of angry older people who fit the baby boomer/gen x stereotype to a T. But this was the first time the roles were reversed and we were in a situation in which there most definitely would have had a spat had the positions not been switched. I surprised this woman by treating her like a person rather than a means to the end of my breakfast.

I’m not one to bash the older generations but I think that’s definitely something that boomers and gen x are forgetting when they deal with minimum wage workers or service workers in general. We’re still people behind these name tags and even if things aren’t going as perfectly as you’d like, we still deserve to be treated like people.

#baby boomers #boomers vs millenials #gen x #gen z #customer service

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moveslikebuckywrites · 5 years

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Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Good Omens (TV) Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Characters: Beelzebub (Good Omens), Hastur (Good Omens), Ligur (Good Omens), Gabriel (Good Omens), Sandalphon (Good Omens), Original Characters Additional Tags: is it a coffeeshop au if it's not an au?, the long suffering silence of your local barista, also don't forget to tip your baristas

Summary: In which three well-meaning but underpaid Baristas are subject to the tensions of the (unknown to them) demons and angels that work in Broadgate Tower.

It's no worse than any of their other regular customers.

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This is for a weekly prompt fill over in @ladyoutlier‘s Ineffable Outlier’s discord!

It’s a super fun time over there, y’all should come check it out!

_____

Broadgate Tower was, at the outset, an altogether normal office building.

There were real estate offices, sales offices, legal offices, offices that did some sort of business that even the people working there weren’t sure about; any office you could think of.

Like most office buildings in the 21st century, there was a coffee shop in the lobby. Hard to handle the daily grind of the corporate sector without a boost of caffeine. Office workers of all kinds would flock to the little shop every day, in their smart three-piece suits and overly-expensive shoes, for their much-needed fix.

Yes, most of the workers in the Broadgate Tower were very well-paid corporate entities. Not so much the baristas in the coffeeshop.

When you work for the minimum wage, you get used to certain things. You get used to being treated like you’re not entirely human. You get used to hearing things that normal people with manners would never say to anyone they actually gave a toss about.

Demands to see the manager over the inability to make a drink that they don’t even carry the ingredients for (what exactly is supposed to be in a Pokemon Go Frappuccino? We still don’t know, really. This isn’t a bloody Starbucks.)

Flash bastard suck-ups who really want to be the CEOs of their company loudly complaining into their phones about the wait times (what, exactly, did they expect when tower staffing would only budget for three baristas during rush hour?).

Screaming over lattes being 5 degrees too cold, then about them being 5 degrees too hot after being remade (the machines are automatic, both drinks were the exact same).

The same individuals, after having their drink remade three times, saying things like “See, it’s not so hard, is it? You’re just making coffee after all!” while laughing shrilly, covering their mouths with their hands to show off their overly expensive French manicures.

“Whatever ‘hell’ actually is,” said one barista, after a particularly crazy morning rush, “It can’t possibly be worse than that.”

“Just wait, Rose, you’ll get used to it,” Kristy, the shift lead, added as she tried to unearth the condiment bar from the seemingly endless pile of sugar and sugar substitutes that had buried it, “It’s only your first day, and you’re doing great.”

“They really need to get us a fourth morning shift,” said Jisel, the last of the three, currently grinding coffee to replenish what the morning stampede had obliterated, “It’s bad enough to deal with the rush, worse when they show up.”

“When who shows up?” asked Rose, “I thought that was the bulk of it?”

“The ‘gangs’,” Kristy said sarcastically, “Bit of an odd bunch; seem to absolutely hate each other. Never can figure out what their offices do, but it always feels like a bomb is gonna go off when they come in the morning.”

“It can’t be that bad,” Rose’s eyes widened, “can it?”

“The tension is the worst,” Jisel groaned as she set up the coffee baskets to brew, “like they’re waiting for a war to come or something.”

“One group works on the top floor,” Kristy said as she scooped out more sugar into the dispensers, “Those are the ones that wear all beige and gray. The other work in the basement, wear all black and some of them stink. Upstairs is all fake smiles and downstairs is all depression, it’s quite odd.”

“And don’t get me started on their manners,” Jisel pressed the ‘brew’ button on the machines and turned her attention to the pastries, “One of them, some American asshole with purple contacts, always calling our food ‘gross matter’. Like, buddy, it’s not my fault this is what corporate sends us.”

“Oh! Or the baldie, always staring! Shouldn’t be allowed to get away with that leering, creeps me right out!” Kristy suppressed a shiver of fear at the thought of the bastard.

“Isn’t he the one with the grills in his teeth?” Jisel winced at the thought, “What does he think he’s a millennial or something? He’s not fooling anyone, he’s gotta be at least 45! Or even the short one, with the fly hat!”

“What, like, a cool hat?” asked Rose.

“No, like, a literal house fly but it’s a hat on their actual head,” Jisel said waving the pastry tongs about, “They wanted to fire me for wearing a necklace one day and this one gets to wear a hat that looks like a housefly?”

“Come on now, you know they don’t work for tower staffing,” Kristy had given up at this point and taken position at one of the tables to watch whatever shit was on the tele currently, “Whatever company it is must be pretty lenient.”

“Dunno how lenient you can be when the best place you could rent out is a basement. All the ones that wear black work in the basement.” Jisel poked at a stale scone with the tongs, “Seems ever so dreary.”

“’Cept for the one with the sunglasses, he’s always good for a joke.” This whole job was a joke. A sense of humor had always been something Kristy could appreciate, even if most of their customers couldn’t.

“Yeah, when he’s here. Usually just the rest of the lot though,” The scone continued to be regarded with disdain before being unceremoniously tossed in the garbage and replaced with a fresher one,

“What about the professor looking fellow from the upstairs group?”

“The fuddy-duddy?” Kristy asked, wrinkling her nose and flipping through the channels. Rose had taken to cleaning the same tabletops she’d already cleaned.

“That’s not very nice,” The tongs hand moved on to poking at one of the unfortunate looking breakfast sandwiches, “He always leaves good tips!”

“S’pose that’s true; day always seems to go better after he visits.”

“Still haven’t figured out how we seem to have marshmallows when he’s here,” Jisel said, “We don’t usually have them do we?”

“Probably best not to question it.” Kristy, out of everyone, had been there the longest and had seen the majority of the strangeness the ‘gangs’ (as the baristas all called them) could be. Sometimes things happened when they were around and if you thought too hard on it, you’d find yourself with an upset stomach or a migraine.

This was how it was with coffee shops. Part of the business. Marshmallows existed when the fuddy duddy was around, and that was that.

“Um, ‘scuse me,” Rose piped up from where she was cleaning the same table a third time, “Did it get colder in here?”

“Ah,” Kristy stood to take back her position behind the bar, tossing the remote on a table, “They’re here.”

It was only three of them today (a blessing, if you believed that sort of thing) but it would have to be the worst possible three. She knew their names, of course. You didn’t work in the same place this long and not learn customer names. Beelzebub, Hastur, and Ligur. Weird names, but a coffee is a coffee.

The first, hot chocolate with cinnamon - extra whipped cream.

The second, black coffee with two shots of espresso.

The third always changed his order with the season. Sometimes she could swear his eyes changed color, too. She thought to her old worn out glasses and thought how nice it must be to afford contacts, much less color ones.

“Finally! I might spare your deaths for another day,” the one known as Ligur said, “It appears you’ve all come to your senses and deigned to bring my preferred drink back. I’ll have the pumpkin spice.” He said this with a snarl, making it sound eviller and foreboding than any overly-sweet sugar-drenched latte should. Which was difficult, because around here “Pumpkin Spice” was a four-letter word. Jisel punched the order into the till with the complete indifference one can only gain by working in the customer service industry.

Rose looked like she might jump out of her skin from her position by the oven, and Kristy couldn’t really blame her. There was a certain aura that came with the basement workers; doom and gloom was the best way to describe it. The fact that the one seemed to have a reptilian hand sticking out from under his blonde hair didn’t help.

Best to ignore that.

Also best to ignore the beady eyes boring holes through her as she filled half of the large cup with whipped cream for the weird fly-hat person. Did they even blink?

“Cinnamon if you pleazzzz.” Beelzebub said with a buzz and obvious disdain, poking a straw into the lid that was clearly not for straws. Kristy turned her attention to the espresso shots running for the black coffee. She was sure that she very much did not see the person offer the straw to their hat and most certainly did not see the hat actually drink from it.

She had gotten very good at not seeing things.

The other two joined the first at the hand-off plane, both grumbling.

“I don’t see how you drink that blessed shit,” said the one called Hastur, “You know that Crowley got a commendation for it1.” He said the name ‘Crowley’ the same way one might say ‘toenail fungus’.

“It’s awful.” Said Ligur who, for today, seemed to have settled on a highlighter-yellow for his color contacts.

“Oh,” said the other, “Well that’s alright then.”

They often spoke like this. Backwards, in Kristy’s mind.

“Um,” Rose piped up from her position as Kristy added the swirl of whip cream to the pumpkin-only-in-name latte, “Now it feels warmer in here?”

“Nah, it’s cuz you’re by the oven,” Jisel said.

Kristy declined to comment; she already knew they were coming. She’d had lots of days seeing the tension flooding into the depressing group in front of her.

Sure enough, in walked the upstairs department. All four smiling so wide as if there was something just behind their teeth trying to claw its way out.

She knew all the names but one. The tall American never ordered, only complained. Uriel, Michael, and Sandalphon were the other three.

They all got the same thing. Americanos. No room, no cream, no sugar.

The small person in the fly hat stared at the American. The American stared back at them.

“Ah, Beelzebub,” the man said, clasping his hands in front of him, stooping down slightly to address who they knew as Beelz, “What an absolute pleasure to run into you again.” He said ‘pleasure’ the same way one might say ‘mandatory monthly torture meetings’.

“Gabriel,” fly-hat replied, looking altogether taller than they had a few moments ago, “Not too bzzzy being self-righteouzzz elzzewhere?”

It always astounded the baristas how they could so easily talk down to another who had a good three feet of height on them. Impressive, to say the least.

The tension in the room was palpable. Like being stuck in pea soup. Like being on a knife edge. Like any moment something was going to snap, and they’d have to run to the phone and call in the police for the inevitable brawl that would definitely probably break out today.

But that was just a typical Friday afternoon at any other time of the day, so Kristy went on with making the Americanos.

The two individuals stared at each other for what felt like hours but was probably only a few minutes. Jisel didn’t speak. Kristy didn’t speak. Rose, well, tried not to speak but definitely whimpered from her little corner of the back bar.

First days were always overwhelming.

And then, as it had transpired every other day, fly-hat broke the eye contact and began walking past the American, head held high. Defiant. Them and the other two would walk out the door, the upstairs people would leave shortly after, and the rest of the day would proceed along as it always does.

This time, fly-hat stopped.

“You are aware,” they said, pure anger palpable even to the baristas behind the bar, “It izz only five more dayz. We are The Fallen, and we will rizze from the ashezz.”

“Whatever helps you make it through the day, Beelzy,” the American said mockingly. Kristy saw fly-hat bristle at this nickname, “We all know the greater good will triumph in the end.”

And with that, the downstairs people left. The upstairs people were given their drinks. They smiled their fake smiles; they didn’t leave a tip2. The baristas stared after them, as they always do, still not sure what to make of it. Even after five years, Kristy’s never figured it out.

"What do you think they meant by that, Kristy?" Jisel asked, "Five days until what?"

"No idea, probably just some corporate garbage, like it always is."

The beeping of the coffee timer kicked them out of their stupor and back to business at hand. Nothing new really, world keeps spinning on as it always does.

______

1 – Crowley had been quite proud of his influence in the creation of the phenomenon known as the “Pumpkin Spice Latte”. An entire pumpkin based beverage without a bit of pumpkin in it, just the spices usually associated with it. It had been a big hit and he’d received a commendation from it on the sheer amount of vanity and addiction it had produced. This of course backfired on him when Aziraphale had proclaimed them to be “quite scrummy indeed”.

2 – Sandalphon, however, did entreat them to “Climb every mountain and ford every stream”, which did little more than confuse the baristas.

#good omens #my fic #beelzebub #gabriel #hastur #ligur #ask me about working at starbucks #ask me about how much I hate pumpkin spice latte season

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thatawkwardnerdytomboy · 5 years

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“Stop waiting for things in your life to get better and MAKE changes to make your life better.”

This is something I’m getting really tired of hearing from people. Something people don’t realize about life is that sometimes when you actively do things to make your life better, there’s still a lot of waiting for those things to take effect. I’ve been going through a very difficult time all year. I really really hate my job. I deliver food for a fast food restaurant. Sometimes I have to carry 50+ lbs of food on my back, walk for miles (they don’t give us bikes) and carry it up 4-5 flights of stairs, sometimes in the pouring rain, boiling heat and freezing cold. When I’m not making deliveries, I’m in the dining room cleaning, taking out the trash, running and bussing tables, running dishes to the kitchen, helping customers, mopping, sweeping and stocking supplies. Sometimes I even help with food prep. The only thing I don’t do is wash the dishes. Now you’re probably thinking, “oh, well that doesn’t sound that bad.” Well, try doing that while the room is spinning, you feel like you just ran a marathon and the chemicals in your brain are telling you to kill yourself...and this is all before you even start your shift. I have thyroid disease, vertigo and a vitamin D deficiency. All these things make my job unbearable. I’m constantly exhausted, depressed and dizzy. Not to mention, I have a communication disorder so speaking to people is very difficult as well. My immune system is compromised. I got an infection on my hand after only working there for a couple of months because the restaurant is always filthy and it’s my job to clean it. My finger swelled up so much that I couldn’t bend it. Since I didn’t have medical insurance, I had to prick myself with a needle and drain the pus myself.

I have been trying like hell since I started this job to find another job. And of course, I keep getting rejected.

So here are a few things I’ve been trying to do to improve my situation aside from applying for jobs:

• I’m a freelance illustrator and I’ve been trying to put myself out there and try to get commissions to make some extra money. But of course, I can’t just assign myself commissions and give myself money, I have to wait for people to commission me and I’ve actually gotten a few commissions this year. I also tabled at an art show last month and sold a few prints and copies of a novel I wrote.

• I illustrated a children’s book for free as part of a deal so that the author and I can go into business together. However, I’m still waiting for the author to get the book printed. I’d like to emphasize the “waiting” part. This isn’t going to happen overnight. I need to WAIT.

• One of my former teachers got a grant to work on some short films and he wants to create a short series of pilot films/episodes for a film series. I showed up to every meeting for these discussions always prepared with my script, always on time and always willing to take the next step toward making this happen. It’s been a couple of years since we first discussed this and during the past couple of years, we’ve had to WAIT for him to get that grant. Now that he has the grant, I need to WAIT for him to return from traveling so that we can start filming. More waiting. Not much else I can do at this point.

• I reached out to the dean of my college and the program coordinator of the pre-college program that I graduated from in high school to ask for help with finding work. My college’s campus has a career services office which I’ve visited. I asked for help with finding a job at this office and all they could tell me was that I wasn’t going to find a job on Indeed and that I need to reach out to other alumni and network in order to find work--which I’ve already tried. So now I need to WAIT to hear back from the dean and the coordinator to see if they can help me find a job.

Story Time: The school that I attended is a not-for-profit university and while I was attending the university, I had a very difficult time securing enough financial aid to remain in my classes. I came close to dropping out because of this. I got a meeting with the financial aid director of my school and they told me that since I was in that pre-college program and I spent so much time in high school volunteering and I came from a poor socio-economic background that the school had a responsibility to help me finish school. So, they gave me extra financial aid to dorm and they helped me secure a work-study job. Now that I’ve graduated, I still need help from my school to find a decent job. As a matter of fact, I got my first job after I graduated because one of my supervisors from my work-study job found me a job. And then I got laid off less than 6 months later...

• I recently had to retake my learner’s permit exam because my permit expired and I didn’t get to take driver’s ed yet. I haven’t taken driver’s ed yet because I’ve been more focused on trying to find a better job, working on the children’s book I illustrated, dealing with my medical issues and just the day-to-day bullshit. I also haven’t had the money since I recently moved out of my mother’s place and drained my savings and whatever money I had to do so. So yeah, I’ve been pretty broke these past few months. Now that I’ve retaken my permit test and went into more credit card debt paying for that, now I need to WAIT for my new permit to come in the mail so that I can start driver’s ed. My girlfriend and I plan on moving to California someday and that’s going to be very difficult to do if we can’t drive. I know, all the Cali people are going “well, you don’t necessarily need a car.” Well, when I visited Cali, my friend and I had to do an obscene amount of walking through the suburbs to get anywhere after getting off public transportation. And having to take trains and busses between each city also takes a lot of time. Having a car would be so much easier. But we’re going to wait until we actually have the money for all of this which won’t be any time soon. Also, a lot of arts-related jobs require that people know how to drive because if you work for an arts program or gallery, they ask people to transport art pieces. So if I get my license, I’ll have more job opportunities in general. But like I said, this isn’t all going to happen overnight. I have to WAIT. • I used to work as a teacher’s assistant for a non-profit but I quit because they kept running out of money to pay us. But I recently discovered that they increased their pay rate and that they’re hiring. I really hope this means that they’ve solved their funding issues. Anyway, I told them that I want to work there again because, at this point, I rather work anywhere else. I actually liked working as a teacher’s assistant too. It was easy and sometimes fun. So I have a meeting on Monday, that I have to WAIT for to discuss my availability and where they want to place me. So I already technically got the job, we’re just going to discuss my scheduling for the job.

• I am also writing a new novel not only as a possible way to make money in the future but also as a form of therapy (since I can’t afford actual therapy right now because my “health insurance” is a scam). I’ve also came up with an idea for a TV show and my teacher suggested that I apply for a grant to create a pilot for it. I have over 50 pages of an outline of events that take place on this show. I made a documentary in high school so I know a little about filmmaking but I don’t yet have experience making fictional films so I am going to WAIT until I have experience with the film that I’m going to be making with my teacher so that I know what the process is like and so that I can use it as a way to hone my writing/directing skills.

• I’m going to be applying for medicaid today since my health insurance is utter crap but I heard there’s a WAITING period as they figure out if the applicant is qualified so I’m probably not going to get that any time soon. But when I do, I’m going to try to find a therapist and/or psychiatrist.

So in conclusion, I may complain a lot about my situation and I have the right to do so because if I just kept everything bottled up all the time and never complained, I’d probably be having a panic attack every day like I did yesterday at work and like I did last summer at my last job. I get really mixed messages from people about how I’m supposed to go about dealing with my struggles. I get people telling me that if I’m going through something that I need to talk to someone; that I need to talk to them about it. But then when I do, they often tell me to just suck it up and be glad that I have a job and place to live. However, just because I do doesn’t mean that I have a decent quality of life. For example, my apartment has bedbugs and I’ve called the housing office (which has abysmal reviews), 311, the borough president’s office and they haven’t done anything about it so my girlfriend and I had to take care of it and they haven’t completely gone away. My health insurance doesn’t cover any of my medical expenses and I’m paying out of pocket via my paychecks for it. Doctors’ visits are very expensive. I’m currently almost near $3K in debt and that’s just from getting a splint for my wrist and getting testing done at the OB/GYN’s office. I feel like our society has been so conditioned to believe that as long as you’re not homeless and you’re making minimum wage, you should be happy even when your medical insurance company is trying to drown you in debt, you barely scrape by to pay your bills every month, can’t afford to go back to school and you’re living in a bed-bug infested apartment. In other developed countries, people don’t have to struggle the way that we do. Their tax dollars pay for everything including medical care and college. Their public housing is also better too. So you could live a good life going to school, working part-time and living in public housing in places like Germany but here, in great ole’ America, we have such a terrible quality of life that it makes people want to kill themselves.

So to anyone who wants to tell me to shut up, suck it up and do things to make my life better, you can shut up now.

#Millennials #millennial generation #millenial life #life #Suicidal Thoughts #life sucks #i hate my life #i hate my job #the struggle #struggling #struggles #illness #illnesses #thyroid disease #depression

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weaselle · 5 years

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The Plan to Save All - speedrun

I’ve tried to write this out before and it gets really involved and complicated because it’s a big idea I’ve spend decades developing. I want to try to get it all out in one simple, short, digestible bit. Here we go ____________________________________________________________________ (edit) the MOST simplified version/overview: Phase One: initial membership all lives under one low-cost roof Phase Two: start making $$ by creating alternatives to shitty institutions Phase Three: use those institutions to create an entire city Phase Four: showcase successful alternative that self-propagates via imitation _____________________________________________________________________

PHASE ONE: -leverage group dynamics to lower living costs of both money and time -find simple solutions to complex systems by addressing them under one roof -provide affordable housing and property ownership to minimum wage workers 50 to 100 people live in a single building with communal facilities: shared industrial kitchen, showering (like at the gym -- in fact, include a gym) common areas for recreation, etc. This lowers cost through efficiency, i.e. you don’t need 50 apartments with 50 ovens, you can have a large communal kitchen with like 4 industrial ovens. One Monthly Payment: everything including food and chores -about one 50th to one100th of the 10 year mortgage (and property tax) -all utilites: garbage, gas, electricity, water, internet, group phone plan -meal plan, like at a college or whatever. -laundry plan -community fund (for building upgrades, amenities, repairs, etc) -about one 50th to one 100th of the caretaker stipend -a group healthcare/health insurance program Caretakers: about 20% of the residents no monthly bill for living there, plus paid a reasonable stipend. Caretakers have a 30 hour workweek wherein they do all building maintenance and cleaning, provide the meal plan, do the laundry, water the plants, feed the pets, etc. Not only does this solve an increasing time issue for the residents, each caretaker also receives the solution because they live in the same facility - in other words, the caretakers that do the cooking don’t have to come home after work and do laundry and the caretakers that do the laundry don’t have to come home and cook dinner. More time to be a student, do art, or care for your kids. Costs continue to lower through efficiency - you don’t need 100 apartments with 100 toolboxes containing 100 hammers. Shared facilities like gym showers means caretakers don’t have to clean 100 showers all over the building; about 25 showers in one place will probably do. Free Rooms (and board): semi-temporary room and board outreach programs it does not significantly increase each person’s monthly bill to leave about 5% of the facility’s rooms empty and absorb the corresponding room-and-board costs (in other words splitting the total bill 75 ways instead of 80 ways equals almost the same payment per person). This allows the group to offer free housing and food to whoever they decide needs help in their area - women fleeing abusive relationships, homeless veterans, disowned transgender teens, etc. Cost: about $1,000 per month, or roughly 2/3 a minimum wage income. My initial budget exploration shows that the total monthly cost to each paying resident works out to be about a thousand a month. Since about half the monthly payment is going to the mortgage, and property values / local minimum wages tend to be relative to each other, this amount tends to be about 2/3 of a full time income on minimum wage. In other words, out where minimum wage is about seven dollars, the property values are also lower, making the total monthly payment closer to $700, whereas in Oakland where I’m doing the most planning, the mortgage would make the monthly payments closer to $1,200 but minimum wage is 11 or 12 dollars. Remember, total payment includes food and everything. Built in Disposable Income Raise (through cost lowering) even if none of the residents ever get a raise in 10 years, after a decade the mortgage is paid off which means the monthly bill gets cut in half. Plus residents now own outright a share of the facility, which increases in value; the beginning of a retirement investment. But in phase two we go after more money anyway. **************************************************************************************************** PHASE TWO: -help the middle class pay minimum wage workers to create alternatives to corrupt, damaging, or flawed institutions -create monetary success and grow socio-economic\political capital -move into another, better building -help the next group of 50-100 minimum wage workers Develop Caretaker Positions into alt institutions imagine you want to start a business as a bike repair shop. Now imagine you are starting that business with 100 guaranteed customers paying a pre-arranged fee that has been budgeted to cover your business supplies, workshop lease, plus your wages and personal monthly bills. Dog walking, gardening, house cleaning, cooking or food delivery, whatever the group needs and the facility/community is designed for, there are plenty of business to start this way. A group providing a dedicated and funded laundry service to 100 people within a facility designed for it can easily expand to accommodate paying customers from outside the community and keep growing. This is how the facility can start offering house cleaning, laundry, meal plan, gardening, etc. The middle class is already paying for these things - gardeners, housekeepers, dog walkers, laundry service, food delivery... so the market is there. The wages for these jobs are typically more than minimum wage. As more middle class households become customers, more residents of the facility can quit their minimum wage jobs at corporate mega stores and start earning better wages working for themselves and each other. The community incorporates and is able to take part in all the unfair advantages afforded corporations over the common public. Soon the public will BE corporations, and either everybody has to pay a fair tax, or nobody does. This also helps the group include a health plan as part of the monthly bill. Move to Better Facility and offer the old one to a new group When the first group gets a property and pays the mortgage, they pay the bank an additional few hundred thousand dollars for their property. For instance, if you buy a 2 million dollar property from a bank and pay a 30 year mortgage, the total payments on your 2 million dollar property after 30 years will actually be about 3 million dollars. It’s less over a ten year mortgage, but still. SO when the first group owns their facility outright, they can enter a second 10 year mortgage on a different facility, but offer the first one to a second group while acting as the bank themselves - doing this for a cycle of 3 means that after 30 years the first group owns a single property just like a standard mortgage, but has helped two other groups own property and defrayed their own payments instead of shoveling so much money into a bank. The goal is to liberate more and more property from the banks and enter them into a system of citizen-to-citizen ownership where people own the buildings they live in, having paid other citizens for them. In the second facility, the building is nicer, there are more amenities, monthly payments go up, and you add people to the group. The people you add are more-than-minimum-wage professionals. Teachers, firefighters, admin clerks, paralegals. Some of them join the caretakers to provide their services to the group -- daycare, tax-filing, vehicle repair, IT service, plumbing, even community security officers who are people you know and trust who live with you... and of course coffee and cake and everything else. Once again, these are fledgling businesses with guaranteed clientele and budgeting, that can then be offered to customers outside the community. Once again, the other professionals added to the group can quit their outside jobs and work for each other and themselves. These all grow into full institutions along planned paths. The caretaker watering the plants and cleaning the house becomes a gardener and handyman. The gardener/handyman starts a landscaping home-renovation business. That business grows into a property development and construction company. The caretaker doing the laundry starts offering repairs and minor alterations (replace a button, hem some pants). They start a laundry/dry cleaner and taylor business. They grow into a clothing line. The meal plan grows into a restaurant grows into a farm-to-table network. After school programs, daycare and tutoring become a whole school. Each service within the community becomes a business that grows into an institution. PHASE THREE Build A City You have a large construction company. You have a school. You have a publicly owned non-profit bank/credit union. You have firefighters. You have Alt-mart, which I’ll have to explain fully somewhere else but involves a locally sourced mega-mart featuring a permanent farmer’s market and is designed to put Walmart and Target out of business. So. You have all the elements you need for a functioning city. Have your construction company build one. In this city, there is no private property; you lease a private residence directly from the city, which holds the whole city in a trust for the citizens and administrates it via an elected city council, which means each citizen owns an equal share of the city as a whole. The whole “rent” is therefore subject to regulation and available to fund public works instead of going into the pockets of some real estate mogul or slum lord. Imagine if your city had your entire rent payment to help end homelessness, provide healthcare, maintain infrastructure and innovate powergrid alternatives, instead of trying to do all that for the 2% of the property value they have access to now. I have a whole bunch of city design stuff that addresses things like sustainable water sourcing etc, but, I’m trying to get through this quickly PHASE FOUR this is important. By the time you get to phase 4, the project is showing a successful straight line development from minimum wage/poverty and powerlessness, to autonomous socio-economic alternative achievable by any group. You start as a fry cook in your twenties, and you end as a comfortably successful citizen in a city you created, that takes proper care of you and which has improved the lives of countless people along the way, all by the time you are 65. Now THAT’s a retirement. You KNOW people are gonna copy that all around the country. It’s my socio-economic worm ... it self replicates, and has the potential to subvert and replace existing socio-economic systems. I don’t want to tell people how to live, I’m trying to free them to live how they want. If they want a city that allows homelessness but everybody gets a horse, then fine, that’s their city (which I predict will fail, but whatever) the power will be with the people, and the city I live in will have priorities I agree with.

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outourfrontdoor · 3 years

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CREDITED FOR 바카라사이트검증 BACCARAT’S REPUTATION

There are some key differences between 메이저 바카라사이트검증 playing in a land-based casino and participating in an online casino or poker room. While internet gambling provides a convenient and colorful platform for every casino game, the actual thing is almost hard to imitate.

Regardless of how similar two casino games look, they cannot be played in an online casino as they were originally designed. Baccarat, a land-based casino game, meets this requirement.

While Baccarat may not have as many rules or tactics as some other games, it does have one of the most important factors for making a game well known: a questionable reputation.

When I say dubious reputation, I don’t mean horrible, but neither do I mean good. Where do we go from here? It’s as easy as this: It leaves us with a mystery reputation, one that interests us even if we don’t know anything about it.

You know, even if you’ve never been to a casino, you can probably tell that atmosphere is important. If you’ve never been to a casino, let me to educate you. When you enter a casino, you join a fantasy world in which you are wealthy and famous, and attractive people (and sometimes some women) will continually urge you to hang out, offering you free drinks while they go about their business. There is absolutely no chance that you’ll ever be able to escape the magical world until you lose all your money and are compelled to do so.

In each game, the developers are trying to stand out in a marketplace where everything is filled with limitless possibilities and many cultures, and catch players’ attention. Some like to use lights and dealers that are flashy, while others prefer to use lights and dealers who are quieter. 바카라사이트검증 목록 click

One of the main reasons why baccarat is so well regarded is located in the baccarat room. A barrier of draperies isolates the games from the surrounding environment (typically red suede). Only affluent and experienced high rollers will take part in the game because the minimum wage is rather large. While players may or may not expect to be given alcohol and entertained by female casino employees, baccarat players may expect to be served, or entertained, by a handful of these females.

While the game is simple to learn and easy to play, there is something so respectable about being able to play. Each game has its own appeal, and baccarat has an appeal that only a few individuals may participate in.

There are some who feel there is more to it than just the environment.

My own advice is to make a point of playing as many different games as possible, both online and land-based, and, above all, to enjoy yourself as you do it.

The best way to win in 안전 바카라사이트검증 Baccarat with a live dealer is to provide no money and trust your instincts.

The game of Baccarat is often believed to be one in which only flawless guesses can help you to win. However, some argue against this. The primary aim of the game is to avoid getting defeated by the banker while getting a score of 9 or more. The total of the two cards is taken as the third card. In craps, you can wager on the roll of the dice, the banker’s roll, or a tie. It is the most profitable choice to have a tie. The only way to change the outcome of a game of Baccarat is by influencing or affecting the outcome. The cards speak for themselves. An informed estimate can be made, but it’s quite unlikely.

To make the game more challenging, the casino can have up to eight decks of cards. This will be terrible if you’re considering card counting or statistics. You’d have to consider everyone else. In order to verify their identities, you would have to look at their ID cards and utilize a technique you feel will be beneficial to you. However, figuring out baccarat, a game where participants wager on the color of the horse rather than the number of legs on the horse, is a waste of time. It doesn’t even come close.

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in Baccarat, it’s the draw of the cards, while in Roulette, it’s the spin of the ball Although services claiming to be able to predict online Baccarat are advertised all over the internet, you cannot expect to find an accurate predictor if you cannot predict the cards while they are in front of you. It’s simple: if you could know the outcome of a game of Baccarat, you’d have a wealthy casino customer. Casinos either would increase the number of cards in the deck to frustrate the cheat, or would add another deck to raise their fees.

Baccarat is a gamble, therefore winning or losing isn’t certain. No one 바카라사이트검증 커뮤니티 can predict the outcome. While some gamblers choose to put their money on the bank, since they feel it has some connection to the house, like every other game. Baccarat is only played for a small percentage of the time, and so provides the player with an advantage. A smaller table where you may wager could be easier to discover. Not every casino caters to high rollers.

If they didn’t, they would have to get rid of it. Playing Baccarat against another player or by yourself at home is a good way to test strategies and improve your odds of winning. Using an online casino is safe; it is illegal in the United States. In theory, practice may make you better at a task, but in fact, it will have little effect. Gambling is a form of entertainment, after all; you’re supposed to be prepared to lose. Some people believe that, anyway.

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volscawinri1989 · 3 years

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dif insurance

BEST ANSWER: Try this site where you can compare quotes from different companies :bestinsureonline.top

dif insurance

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Do I Need A DIF-Insured Bank Account? If you’re in an inpatient or terminal state, you’re entitled to the full amount of the insurance premiums you paid. For more help with that question, please use my free comparison tool. Please note that you will not pay the full amount up front. What you pay for car insurance does depend on the following factors. Most car insurance companies will give you the option of adding your insurance card to your policy or paying your policy upfront. Once you receive your receipt, you can add it to your policy. To begin, you must provide an insurance card to your insurer. Your phone should be covered under the vehicle’s manufacturer’s documentation. If the vehicle is under your name, you should always send proof of insurance. If you’re calling the insurance company’s offices, you should set up the claim. They’ll need your name, policy number, and date the policy is in force. This also applies to your driving record.

100% insured deposits.

100% insured deposits. The deductible is the amount to pay if the policyholder receives damage that he/she is responsible for to an insured/insured is a total loss. The policyholder should check for any deductible as well as any associated fees before making the selection. The covers property damage to an insured or insured as a result of a car accident involving an insured driver’s physical and/or emotional damages. The deductible is a cost borne by the policyholder when damage to the insured’s property is due to a policyholder’s negligence, the deductible amount is an amount less than $250,000 that can be subtracted from the policy if a claim arises. The deductible is not an amount of money that is part of the policyholder’s liability coverage. When an insured is injured, or if the insured is uninsured or underinsured, the claims process in the event of a claim is delayed or even denied. In this example, if the policyholder has not yet provided the.

Do People Really Need Extra Deposit Insurance?

Do People Really Need Extra Deposit Insurance? Here’s How: The National Minimum Wage ($2400) was created to help those most at-risk financially to avoid further economic hardship. The Federal minimum wage is the amount of money you must pay for work done before a job is filled. Your employer’s minimum income is defined as $22,000. You can choose your employer’s minimum wage for the average worker. What does minimum wage mean when it comes to insurance coverage? As we’ve discussed, it refers to an amount determined by the amount of work an employer actually does to raise the wage, after every 1,000 hours of work – the actual wage. For example, the wage of a wage earner working in $50 an hour on a full schedule, is then multiplied by how much work the employee makes. The result is that someone earning $50 on a full schedule will probably pay a wage less than $16/month. For minimum wage earners, this means the wage of their.

What is DIF Insurance?

What is DIF Insurance? This is where that name comes into play. We call her DIF Insurance, because she was the first woman-owned insurance agency that was written to act like a woman! That is amazing, right? DIF provides over a million of insurance quotes and gives you numerous options for how to get insured! You can read DIF insurance review for more tips and tricks. DIF Insurance was started in 1972 by three women in San Jose, California. It’s their mission to insure men, so they took the concept to new ground. They started a few years ago to write auto insurance and provide women drivers, but since our founding they have grown beyond that point in time. I think our story has helped us grow. When I looked at this insurance review, I was really hoping to be honest with people about how these guys operate. When I looked at the insurance quotes for two guys, I thought they were great. My agent, Bill, was super helpful in assisting me.

How Does DIF Compare To FDIC Insurance?

How Does DIF Compare To FDIC Insurance? DIF is a financial service division of the DFS that is not part of the DFS. While FDIC is still the parent company, DIF provides services on behalf of the customers and does not operate as an insurance provider. DIF does provide financial services to its customers; however, they are only able to do this through customers. DIF provides financial services on behalf of the customers that is solely the company’s responsibility. This gives DIF the capability to provide services to its clients in the event of the unexpected, but DIF cannot act as an insurance provider. In the cases that it cannot provide financial services, DIF is responsible for providing financial services to its customers and does not function as an insurance provider. DIF’s policyholders are able to choose from: Insurance Marketplaces: This is a financial service marketplace that offers both online and through telemedicine visits to the DIF Insurance Office. DIF offers financial products ranging from.

If you bank with other financial institutions, you owe it to yourself to check if DIF insures your deposits.

If you bank with other financial institutions, you owe it to yourself to check if DIF insures your deposits. When you borrow from your own bank, the bank will be the one to pay for your entire loan (this is a feature that you may benefit by paying off your loan or by covering the remainder of your car loan payments.) While it’s not a free car allowance, DIF insures your deposits in other banks’ credit card’s may make this a worthwhile investment. While you can’t get a DIF policy, you can borrow from your own bank for a number of reasons, including: When it comes to DIF insurance, lenders offer you a range of different options. Whether you want to borrow from your own bank to cover the remainder of your loans can depend largely on your personal circumstances. Many lenders offer these ways: If you’re thinking about adding DIF for a car, the odds are your friend is trying to save money on his/her car insurance premiums if he or she buys a car with DIF, and they may be willing.

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ericvick · 4 years

Photo

What Prop. 22's defeat would mean for Uber and Lyft — and drivers

(Ross May / Los Angeles Times; Getty Images)

One way or another, the business of summoning a ride from your phone is likely to look different in California after Nov. 3.

The future of gig work could hinge on the success or failure of Proposition 22, called the App-Based Drivers as Contractors and Labor Policies Initiative. Uber, Lyft and other companies bankrolling the initiative say it would improve workers’ quality of life, providing new benefits while preserving their autonomy. If passed, the measure would cement gig workers’ status as independent contractors, dealing a huge blow to a labor movement striving to bolster protections for workers at the margins.

Gig companies’ business models rely on hiring large numbers of workers cheaply as independent contractors to provide rides, deliver meals and groceries and perform other services. Assembly Bill 5, a state law passed in 2019, aimed to expand protections to these workers, requiring gig companies to reclassify them as employees.

Proposition 22 represents the companies’ efforts to battle that law and the obligations that come with it.

Uber, Lyft, DoorDash, Instacart and Postmates (which was recently acquired by Uber) have jointly poured close to $200 million into the “yes” campaign, flooding the airwaves and their own apps with ads and making the measure the costliest in U.S. history.

At the heart of it all is a vicious fight to shape the prospects of hundreds of thousands of drivers and delivery workers across the state.

Here’s what you need to know.

What would happen if Proposition 22 passes?

The text of Proposition 22 assures drivers they would maintain flexibility as independent contractors. The measure offers some benefits similar to those conferred under AB 5, but significantly weaker.

Gig companies thus far have resisted compliance with AB 5, which went into effect Jan. 1. In early August, a judge ordered Uber and Lyft to convert their drivers to employees. At the 11th hour, the companies won a temporary stay of the order from a state appeals court, effectively pushing off the deadline until after voters have their say.

Story continues

Uber and Lyft presented oral arguments before California’s 1st District Court of Appeal on Tuesday. The court has 90 days to decide whether it will uphold the lower-court ruling. But Proposition 22, if passed, would override protections granted by AB 5.

The measure instead would grant 120% of the minimum wage (state or local, depending on where the driver is). However, this minimum narrowly applies to “engaged time,” meaning the time a driver is on a trip with a passenger or en route to pick up a passenger. One study found drivers spend one-third of their time waiting between passengers or returning from trips, time that would not count toward the minimum wage.

Under Proposition 22, workers would also receive reimbursement of 30 cents for each “engaged” mile, but employee status would entitle drivers to 57.5 cents for each mile driven, in accordance with Internal Revenue Service guidance.

The proposition also includes a healthcare subsidy and occupational accident insurance to cover on-the-job injuries.

If gig companies complied with AB 5, workers would have access to the full slate of benefits, including overtime pay for time worked past 40 hours a week, paid sick leave, unemployment insurance and workers’ compensation.

A recent report by UC Berkeley’s Institute for Research on Labor and Employment found employee status would increase total driver compensation by about 30%.

What would the companies sponsoring Proposition 22 do if it fails?

Uber Chief Executive Dara Khosrowshahi detailed what he called “the high cost” of making drivers employees in a recent blog post. He said that if Uber employed drivers, the company would be able to hire only 260,000 people full time, out of the nearly 1.2 million drivers in the U.S. before the COVID-19 pandemic.

Specifically in California, Uber projects the number of active drivers the platform could accommodate would fall by 75% if it was forced to treat drivers as employees. Increased labor costs would cause fares to rise 25% to 111%, the company says.

It’s unlikely the companies will follow through on their threat to leave California, one of their biggest markets, said Michael Reich, a labor economist at UC Berkeley who has studied Proposition 22’s effect on drivers extensively and whose work informed ride-hailing regulation adopted in New York. California accounts for about 16% of Lyft’s business and 9% of Uber’s global rides and Uber Eats gross bookings. However, the state represents a negligible fraction of adjusted earnings, Uber has said, according to Reuters.

Instead, the companies will probably continue to challenge AB 5 in the courts, including at the appellate and state Supreme Court levels in California, and then appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, Reich said. That process would take one to two years.

Although California is the first state to challenge how Uber and Lyft classify drivers (with Massachusetts in a close second place), cities that have instituted minimum wage protections, including New York and Seattle, offer clues as to what a future under AB 5 could look like. In those markets, drivers have been making more hailing rides, Reich said. He predicts even less effect on demand in California from price increases.

“In New York you expect more price sensitivity because you have more transportation — you have the subway, you have more taxis. In California, you don’t have those alternatives,” Reich said.

Crunching the numbers, Reich has a more optimistic view than Uber and Lyft of their ability to transition. He predicts that in California, prices would increase 5% to 10%, while labor costs would go up 25% to 30%. He said Uber’s analysis assumes that every dollar of cost increase translates into a dollar price increase, but that didn’t happen in New York and won’t happen here. He thinks about two-thirds of the cost increase could be offset by greater efficiency in the use of drivers, reduced employee turnover costs and smaller commissions.

Uber’s economist “does not at all explain why the number of drivers would fall so much. She apparently asserts that the company would not hire part-time drivers, even though they would still need them because of the difference between demand during peak and off-peak hours,” Reich said in an email.

In New York, drivers did lose some degree of flexibility, with fewer spots open for new drivers and Uber and Lyft announcing moves to limit access to their apps. The companies locked out drivers at times and in areas of low demand in response to the new regulations, providing a map showing where demand is highest for drivers to find work elsewhere in the city. These changes have been frustrating and even nightmarish for some drivers who say the new system is exhausting to navigate. Labor groups have said the changes by Uber and Lyft were scare tactics meant to undercut new regulations.

One effect of the uncertainty in California’s gig economy that’s already become apparent is the emergence of new players in the state that are willing to comply with AB 5.

Small Texas ride-hailing start-ups Alto and Arcade City have plans to launch in Los Angeles. The two companies employ business models that are completely different from those of the ride-hailing giants.

Arcade City began as a Facebook group connecting thousands of unemployed drivers with residents who needed rides after Uber and Lyft took a yearlong hiatus from Austin when the city tried to impose tighter background checks for drivers. The company offers an interface for drivers who build their own recurring customer base and set their own rates and hours.

Alto hires its drivers as employees and provides them with vehicles. Co-founder and CEO Will Coleman said in an interview that Alto hopes to come to L.A. by the end of November. The start-up has about 200 employees, with plans to hire 100 more.

“We knew this employment model was going to be a question…. We’ve seen the writing on the wall for years,” Coleman said.

If Proposition 22 passes, could it be changed later?

If passed, amending it would require a seven-eighths supermajority of the Legislature — a daunting hurdle.

In California, a law created by ballot measure can be changed only by another ballot measure, unless the original measure specifies otherwise. Because it’s a hassle to push through ballot measures, initiatives will frequently waive this protection and provide opportunity for the measure to be amended by the Legislature.

A two-thirds majority vote is a common benchmark initiatives use. A seven-eighths majority requirement is unheard of.

“I’ve never seen anything like that. The companies are trying to divest the Legislature of any authority,” said William Gould, a labor lawyer and professor emeritus at Stanford University who studies the gig economy.

Additionally, Proposition 22 would remove the teeth AB 5 gave state lawmakers to challenge companies on worker classification, said Charlotte Garden, a labor law professor at Seattle University School of Law. Before, workers who felt they were being denied benefits typically were shunted into employer-controlled arbitration processes, which had little effect, Garden said. AB 5 empowered California’s attorney general and city attorneys in the state’s most populous cities to force companies to provide benefits to workers who met the legal test for employee classification.

Will Proposition 22 have national implications?

Under President Trump, the federal government has been moving in the opposite direction. In September, the Labor Department issued a proposed rule that is friendlier to employers who use independent contractors.

“Under the Obama administration, the Department of Labor was pushing for a more aggressive ability to find someone as an employee, and it was causing a lot of, I would say, uncertainty in the business community,” said Gina Miller, a law partner in Snell & Wilmer’s Orange County office. “The new administration withdrew that guidance.”

That could change, depending on the outcome of the presidential election. Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden and his running mate, Sen. Kamala Harris, have voiced support for AB 5 and endorsed a “no” vote on Proposition 22.

Times staff writers Vanessa Martínez, Rahul Mukherjee and Ryan Menezes contributed to this report.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

#22s #defeat #drivers #Lyft #Prop #Uber

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expatsecuador · 4 years

Text

How To Work Remotely From Ecuador

It’s almost the perfect storm for working remotely from Ecuador. COVID 19 has forced a re-think of how we work and the growing gig economy means there have never been as many opportunities to work remotely.

There were already 7 million people (or 3.4% of the population) working remotely in the US before COVID19 hit in early 2020.

Once COVID 19 hit, 88% of global organizations encouraged some type of remote working from home arrangement.

This rapid uptake in companies offering work from home positions means the supply of remote jobs has increased. COVID has effectively forced companies to re-think how they can better accommodate remote employees.

This trend is expected to continue, which will further increase the number of jobs available to remote workers.

Growing appetite for remote jobs

The following graph shows the trend of people googling ‘remote jobs’ in the US over the past 5 years.

You can see the peaks that correlate to Coronavirus news events of January and March 2020. But, what really interests me are the peaks between July and August, particularly the highest peak of August 16, 2020.

Why you ask? Because I’d expect to see the peaks of January and March as they would be largely driven by media events relating to the Coronavirus. But, the extended, much higher peaks of July and August indicate a stronger long-term trend of a growing market of employees and employers all interested in the phrase ‘remote jobs’.

This indicates the overall environment for working remotely is growing significantly.

Gig economy growing 3x

The gig economy is simply a name given to contract-based jobs that are performed by freelancers as opposed to full or part-time workers. You probably think of Uber drivers and Amazon delivery personnel. These are certainly included, but the range of jobs is much wider and can include roles from digital marketing, writing, editing, transcription, teaching English online and Amazon Mechanical Turk etc.

Now, the gig economy is growing at 3x the pace of regular jobs and 36% of US based workers were already in the gig economy in 2018.

This presents opportunities for you to participate in the gig economy from Ecuador. Sure, you won’t be able to land a role as an Amazon delivery driver, but you don’t have to. There’s plenty of other digital-based opportunities that we touch on below!

What does this mean for Ecuadorian based expats and workers?

This is exciting as it points towards a growing ecosystem for remote or work from home positions. Quite simply, there has never been a better time to start working remotely.

But, before you pop open the champagne and start flinging your CV around, you should also know that:

Competition for remote jobs is still high

Not all jobs can translate into remote opportunities

Experience for most jobs is still an important consideration

Why work remotely in Ecuador?

The case for working remotely in Ecuador is very strong. Ecuador is a small country with:

Diverse environment and cultures

Low cost of living

Relative safety

Good (mostly reliable) internet

US friendly with the same timezone and good international flight connections

Generous visas with 90-day tourist stamps issued at the airport for most nationalities. This can be easily extended for another 90 days for a total initial stay of 180 days!

Several good long term visa options such as the Professional Visa for those that want to stay 2+ years.

I honestly think there is something in Ecuador to suit most people’s tastes in addition to the popular rhetoric revolving well-preserved city centers, the Galapagos, and volcanoes.

Ecuador’s digital nomad challenges

However, Ecuador is yet to achieve the same level of notoriety as other ‘digital nomad hotspots’ such as Medellin (Colombia), Chiang Mai (Thailand) & Bali (Indonesia). I suspect this is because Ecuador is not as strong in the following areas:

Nightlife and partying

Relatively small digital nomad community

Not as easy to get by with just English

Immature digital/startup ecosystem

Electronics are expensive to buy and repair (we suggest bringing these with you)

Working remotely for an Ecuadorian vs US/non-Ecuadorian company

Show me the money

If your main priority is making the Benjamins, then hands down it will generally be more attractive to work for a US (or Canadian, European, Australian, etc) company.

The minimum wage in Ecuador is $400 and the average monthly wage ranges depending on the source. It ranges from $460 to $500 to over $1,300. Given the large percentage of informal workers in Ecuador, it’s quite difficult to pin down the actual average monthly salary.

Whatever the source, you’ll likely find it difficult to land a local job that pays more than $1,000 per month.

¿Hablas español?

You will considerably increase your chances of landing a good local job if you speak Spanish fluently. Without it, you’re going to really limit the opportunities available to you.

If you only speak English, then sticking to English-friendly jobs is a no-brainer until you’ve become fluent in Spanish.

Some Ecuadorians find success working remotely for companies based in Spain. If you’re Spanish is good enough, this could be a viable option for you too.

What jobs can you perform remotely from Ecuador?

This is a super expansive question because remote jobs by their nature can be performed just about anywhere. But, I’m going to focus on the more popular options I’ve come across digital nomads or settled expats (like myself) working remotely in Ecuador.

These are:

Your current/previous role

Teaching English Online

Digital Marketing

Content Writer

Virtual Assistant

Web Development

Web Design

Customer Support

Tourism

Transcription

Build Your Own Website

Investing & Trading

1. Your current/previous role

Many industries are moving towards accommodating remote workers. Some traditional service-based industries such as lawyers, engineers and even medical professionals have even been willing to adopt some degree of remoteness.

So, you’d be surprised at the types of jobs that can be at least partially completed remotely. I’d suggest it’s absolutely worthwhile going through your previous jobs/careers to see if there is any chance you can perform a similar role remotely. If there is, don’t be afraid to reach out to old colleagues and bosses with some potential options on how you can be a valuable remote contributor.

2. Teaching English Online

There has been a boon in recent times teaching English to students via the internet. This charge has been led by the burgeoning Chinese middle-class that has a seemingly endless appetite for ensuring their kids receive the highest level of education from an early age.

How much can I make teaching online?

Average earnings vary greatly but expect to earn between $10-$25 per hour. This is generally paid as a contractor, so don’t expect health insurance or other benefits.

Requirements

Whilst requirements vary by company, the following are pretty standard requirements.

Native English speaker (some also accept native-level fluency)

TEFL certificate

University degree

Available during peak learning times (before / after school)

Unbridled enthusiasm

The timezone requirement here can be a challenge when teaching from Ecuador. For example, if you’re teaching kids in China, the majority of parents book for 6:00-10:00pm (Beijing time). This is 5:00 – 9:00am in Ecuador.

Whilst you’re generally awarded flexibility when booking your class times, you may be required to teach a certain number of ‘peak hours’ for your contract to be renewed. Or if you don’t open up to peak times you may just not get many students booking you. This is especially true for new teachers.

Some companies also require a US accent. These are generally the bigger, more established companies like VIP Kid. I’ve always found this requirement a little bit weird – as these companies are happy to take on teachers with say, a strong southern drawl, but reject applicants that have neutral accents that are not from the US.

Whilst I’ve never taught English online, I’ve spent far too much time around others while they are conducting their lessons.

Full disclosure: my biggest learning from this is that I know I am not equipped for teaching kids online. Why you ask? The amount of enthusiasm required to keep their attention, the monotony of teaching the same classes over and over again and the sheer patience required are too much for me.

But, I know many people that really enjoy teaching online and thrive in that environment. Horses for courses.

Which companies offer online teaching jobs?

The following companies are popular starting points:

VIP Kid

Magic Ears

DaDa ABC

Say ABC

Landi

PalFish

Some of these companies also offer their current teachers referral bonuses if they bring on new teachers. As the incentive is only generally paid for successful applicants once they teach a certain number of classes, it’s in the best interests of the original teacher to coach their recruits to ensure they get paid.

As a new teacher, it might be worthwhile seeking these people out on various forums or Facebook groups. Some initial coaching on what each company truly looks for can be invaluable. On the flip side, I’ve seen some incredibly intelligent, hard-working teachers with years of experience get knocked back for seemingly trivial oversights.

3. Digital Marketing

Digital marketing is a broad industry that covers everything from social media, content marketing, search engine optimization, paid ads, email, automation and more. Now, I’m clearly biased because this is what I do, but I still see so much potential for new entrants into this field.

I’ve worked as a digital marketer for agencies, startups and large corporations. There is a lot of opportunity in this area because it’s constantly evolving and digital channels continue to eat into the budgets of traditional mediums like print, TV and radio.

If I was just starting out, I’d concentrate on getting good at one small aspect of digital marketing and offering it as a service to clients via platforms such as Upwork, Legiit or even Fiverr.

Offering a specialized service is key. The types of niche services I’m talking about include:

Chat bot building

Email automation

Instagram management

PPC (pay per click) management for [insert industry]

Once you’ve had some success for clients with your niche offering, then you can either use this experience to either broaden into other areas or use the experience to apply for marketing jobs either in-house or at an agency.

4. Content writer

Do you enjoy writing? And do you have detailed knowledge about particular industries? If so, then producing content could be a good option for you.

Many people are surprised to learn how important content is for any digital marketing strategy. And whilst the competition is high because there is a low barrier to entry, the demand for good, dependable writers continues to increase.

For example, I know writers that produce content in certain niches such as legal, medical and engineering that make a very comfortable living ($4K+ monthly).

Think this could be for you? Great. Start writing about a topic that you:

Have pre-existing knowledge

Suspect is commercially valuable (basically any business that spends on marketing)

Enjoy

This 3rd point is key; enjoyment is critical to your long-term success. You don’t want to be in a position where you’re staring at the computer, digging deep for words that just don’t come because you aren’t passionate about the industry.

My last tip is that you don’t want to fall into the trap of offering cheap writing services because you don’t understand your worth. There are loads of cheap general writers out there that are just terrible. Positioning yourself as a niche specialist will earn your more money and allow you to provide better quality to your clients as you know one subject intimately.

5. Virtual assistant

Virtual assistants for all types of industries are in demand. It’s true that there is more demand at the lower end of the price spectrum (ie $5/hour), but this is not where you should position yourself. Again, specializing in a particular industry or skill will set you apart and allow you to command a higher rate ($15-$25 / hr).

This can be a great option for those that maybe don’t see themselves learning a new technology-based skill and can focus on their organizing, communication, and planning skills instead.

There’s plenty of virtual assistant jobs in the freelancer platforms listed below.

6. Web development

One of the most remote-friendly industries is web development. But, this is not for the faint-hearted as web development takes a lot of learning and practice before you can start applying for your 1st job. Thankfully, there’s plenty of great free or cheap resources out there if you want to pursue this angle.

I recommend this free Introduction to Python course by MIT to start your journey – especially if you’re interested in data analysis and AI.

7. Web design

Have an eye for clean lines and attention to detail with a creative flair? Pursuing web or graphic design might be worthwhile pursuing. It’s very remote-friendly with lots of designers working from home or wherever they choose.

It’s one of the few jobs I’ve seen Ecuadorians perform remotely for locally based companies.

But, building up the skills and portfolio also takes time. There are loads of cheap tutorials to teach you the theory (such as Udemy) and tools (ie Photoshop & Illustrator), but some companies still only take on candidates with formal design related degrees.

8. Customer Support

This one can be a real gem in the rough. The prevalence of digital platforms and SAAS products has created many roles for virtual customer support agents. These are the types of roles that were once handled by call center support operators, just repurposed for the online format.

As many customer support roles rely on set hours, being in the same timezone as the US can make these roles ideal for Ecuadorian-based applicants.

You also don’t generally need a lot of experience, so the barrier to entry is low but competition can be high.

One perk for this type of work is that some very forward-thinking, remote-friendly companies employ a lot of customer support agents. This potentially allows you to work your way up into other roles within a world-class company.

These roles can be found on remote job boards and directly with the company.

9. Tourism

Yes, I know the tourism industry is having a hard time since COVID, but I think it’s safe to say that we all love traveling and will be wandering the globe again shortly. Michelle works in tourism and can’t wait for the tourists to come back!

When they do (and they will) there will be demand for sales and travel advisors that speak English. You may even be able to find an Ecuadorian based job if you’re primarily dealing with English speaking clients.

But, if you’re thinking of becoming a tour guide in Ecuador, then I’m sorry, that is much more difficult. It involves a 4-year degree within Ecuador (or possibly transferring some credits from a related degree back home to shorten the period of study).

Some tour companies do send tour leaders to accompany their guests whilst in Ecuador. But, these are generally associated with the company and not a separate service you could just provide from Ecuador.

10. Transcription

Can you type, are a fantastic listener, and are just crazy about details? Then transcribing could be the side gig for you.

The proliferation of the ability to record audio (ie mobile phones) has meant that everyone has easy access to record business meetings and other commercially important events. But, going through these audio notes is a real pain, so companies can opt to cheaply outsource the transcribing of audio to written notes.

There’s also the specialized fields of legal and medical transcription that tend to pay more.

One of the more beginner-friendly companies to try is TranscribeMe. They basically accept anyone so long as you pass the tests. The pay starts at $15 per audio hour. This means that you need to transcribe one hour’s worth of conversation (not work for one hour). As a beginner, it’s realistically going to take you 3 hours to transcribe one hours worth of audio. So, your hourly rate shifts to $5/hr.

My transcription experience

In the spirit of trying anything once, I did previously give transcribing a shot. I figured I’m a fast typer, so transcribing would be a walk in the park. I was wrong.

You see, AI voice to text technology has come a long way. So, recordings that can easily be converted from audio to text are done by computers with some light human intervention. This costs much less than having a person transcribe, so it remains the obvious choice for transcription where possible.

So what audio is left for you to transcribe? Difficult audio. Think of someone recording a meeting on their phone (no special microphone or anything) and trying to type out notes at the same time. What you end up hearing is a mess of sounds that can be very difficult to decipher what words are said. And this is assuming there is no accent to deal with.

I don’t want to turn you off giving transcribing a shot too, but you should go in with your eyes wide open.

11. Build your own website

This isn’t so much a ‘job’ or ‘role’ exactly. It’s more of a long-term opportunity to increase your income. There’s plenty of niches that are still far from reaching market saturation. Creating your own site around one of these niches can really pay off long-term.

But, it’s going to take you at least 6 months of consistent effort to start seeing any sort of results. It’s common to see people start their own sites, then give up after a few weeks worth of effort. And I get it. It can be super frustrating if you don’t see results and have no real way of knowing if the results are going to eventuate (they may not if you’ve chosen a niche that is too competitive).

If you happen to be fluent in Spanish too, then you’ve now got two very different markets to pursue – and twice the amount of work! But, given the low competition in Ecuador, you should be able to see results in just about any industry.

I’m constantly coming up with ideas for Ecuadorian based websites that I know will work, but I just don’t have the time to pursue. I know you’ll have some good ideas of your own.

If you want to try your hand at building your first website, I recommend grabbing a cheap theme from Themeforest and either updating the content/images yourself, or paying someone to mock it together for you.

I’ve had a few people approach me to build their sites, but it’s not something I currently offer as a once-off service. Why? Because a website without marketing is a waste of time and won’t get results. If you’re potentially interested in ongoing marketing services + website build, then feel free to get in contact.

12. Investing & Trading

The last option on the list is my favorite for building long-term wealth. Trading and investing. Many expats are familiar with the attractive rates offered for fixed term deposits (or CDs) by cooperativa’s such as JEP in Ecuador. Some choose to invest in these as a requirement for their Investor Visa, whilst others actively choose them because of the high interest rates between 8-10%.

This is most definitely NOT investment advice as there are reasons why such high interests rates are offered. I’m just leaving it here as an option for you to know that there are expats in Ecuador that live entirely off the interest from their CDs.

Trading stocks, bonds, crypto (ie Bitcoin) and other assets is also a viable option as you can do it from anywhere. I believe there are small trading groups setup in the major cities, but don’t be surprised if your Ecuadorian friends don’t actively invest or know alot about the financial markets.

Where to find remote jobs

We’ve established there is a lot of opportunity across many different fields for remote workers, but where the hell do you find these jobs?

Here are my recommendations for starting your search:

1. Your current network

My path to working online was through a previous employer that already valued my work. We’d already built trust, making it a lot easier for them to embrace the other unknowns that come with remote work relationships.

So, before you go off and try and learn another skill that you can utilize to work from home, I suggest reaching out to your current network. Perhaps offering to work for a lesser amount during a probation period to further de-risk it for your potential employer.

2. Freelancer platforms

These sites all work on the basic principle that you sign up by creating a profile of your work history and skills. You can then start applying for different jobs.

Outsourcely

Outsourcely aims to connect “remote workers” with clients around the world. It’s a good place to find long term client relationships.

Upwork

The biggest freelancer site out there. But, they also take a large cut. 20% of your first $500 goes to Upwork, then a sliding scale from there.

Note, if applying for US based jobs, it really helps to ensure you have a valid US ID. This unlocks a lot of the better US based jobs as clients have the option of only selecting US based candidates.

You get some credits called “connects” initially, but then you need to pay for more in order to apply for jobs. You need to invest in the platform (both time and money) before you’re going to get to most out of it.

Freelancer

Biggest genuine competitor to Upwork. They also operate on a paywall model where you need to invest in some of their premium features in order to get the most from your job search.

People Per Hour

Focus is more geared towards on entry-level jobs. This can be great for newer remote workers, but experienced workers may have a tough time as they are more likely to be under-bid by less qualified professionals.

Fiverr

A great place for new remote workers to get some experience before moving onto higher paying gigs. Reputation for being the cheapest place to get work done – and more often than not you get what you pay for…

3. Job Boards

I’ve focused on job boards that cater towards remote positions below. You can of course use general job boards too, but you may end up spending a lot of time searching for remote-friendly roles.

This list is far from exhaustive as job boards catering for remote workers seem to pop up every week.

Great starting place because there are lots of jobs. But, also lots of competition.

We Work Remotely

One of the oldest remote job boards still as popular as ever.

Dynamite Jobs

Human curated job board. All posted jobs checked to ensure valid and paid.

Remotive

Focus on software development, but good mix of other jobs too.

Working Nomads

Also offer an email of curated jobs if you sign up (free).

4. Facebook groups

There are numerous Facebook Groups setup that can also help you in your job search. Here’s some you should start with:

Digital Nomads Around the World

Large community that focuses on digital nomad issues and job postings. Not specific to any geography.

Ecuador Expats

Largest Facebook group for Ecuadorian based expat info. Some good insights on general Ecuadorian matters.

Ecuador Digital Nomads

Smaller group for digital nomads and remote workers based in Ecuador to connect and share. Disclaimer: I’m a moderator of this group so you’ll get more tips from me if you join.

5. Direct with company

Once you find a job worth applying for, I suggest trying to apply directly on the company’s website. Why? Because it shows you went just the extra yard to do some research about the company and that you care. You can also try to find the person responsible for hiring so you can address your CV to them. These smaller details are needed to get noticed in the competitive job market.

I also suggest setting up Google Alerts for you 5 dream companies. For example, assume you really wanted to work for Slack in their customer support team. Then you’d setup an alert to track the phrase: slack “customer success”. You’ll then be emailed as soon as new jobs come up and can apply right away to be ahead of your competition.

Final Words

The future looks great for remote workers that choose to work from Ecuador. It’s such a great destination for those that love to mix work with weekend trips to the jungle, beach, mountains or even the Galapagos.

The long-term trend clearly indicates there will be more opportunities for remote workers. So basing yourself in Ecuador to capitalize on this trend makes so much sense that it’s kinda shocking there aren’t more nomads and expats choosing to do the same.

Lastly – if you’re currently (or thinking of) working remotely from Ecuador, you should Join our Ecuador Digital Nomads group to connect with others.

from Expats Ecuador https://expatsecuador.com/work-remotely/

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chogiwakeupsheeple · 6 years

Text

SHINee’s Minho; Two Wrongs, One Right (1 of 2)

Genre: Fluff Pairing: Minho x Reader Words: 1327

You're a college student working part time in the café Minho, also a college student, frequently visits. Despite him being there all the time, you have some trouble spelling his name.

The arrival of autumn came sooner than expected. The sidewalk was already wet and the threat of rain loomed in the evenings. Mornings were dim and cold and the walk to work was slow. For most people this meant having to decorate for halloween or dressing up warmer, but for you it meant having to serve numerous pumpkin spice lattes to instagram-obsessed college students. You were a student yourself, so working as a barista was just a means of acquiring money to survive; the attitude most customers gave you, made you wonder if food was really worth it sometimes. If you weren’t in school or doing homework you were at the café, working your ass off for minimum wage. This also meant that you knew the face of pretty much every student on campus, including the very handsome face of the man currently standing in front of you.

‘’I’ll have a Caffé latte to go, please’’ he said with a deep voice while offering you a friendly smile.

He came here all the time and was often seated at one of the tables in the back with his computer, so you had had plenty of time to memorise his face. His name was another story.

‘’What name should i write it to?’’ you asked with the customer service voice you so sincerely hated.

‘’Minho,’’ he answered, the smile never leaving his face.

The long line behind him left you no time to think about the spelling, so you simply scribbled down some letters, hoping you weren’t too off the mark, and moved on to the next customer. a few customers later his latte was ready, and you called his name, waiting for him to come pick it up. He was there almost instantly and took the coffee with a smile and a ‘’thank you, have a nice day’’. Out of the corner of your eye, you saw him looking at the cup with an amused look on his face, a small laugh escaping his lips; you suppose ‘Meano’ wasn’t correct then.

________________

When you the next day walked back into the café, ready for another day of work, the handsome stranger was already sitting in his usual spot, typing on his computer. You noticed that he didn’t have food nor a beverage on his table, which meant he was already done or hadn’t ordered yet. You were there a little early, so you took plenty of time to change into your uniform, hoping he’d order from your colleague in the meantime; meaning you'd avoid another awkward game of ‘’how to spell a foreign name’’. Your hopes and prayers must have fallen upon deaf ears, because as soon as you walked out behind the disk, he got up to order, almost like he was waiting just for you.

‘’I’ll just have an espresso,’’ he said with a smile as equally handsome as the day before.

‘’Got it. It was Minho right?’’ you stammered while accepting payment, hoping he wouldn’t find it weird that you remembered his name.

‘’Yeah, that’s me’’

Based on his smile growing and his eyes practically lighting up, you guessed he didn’t find it weird at all. He sat back down waiting for his order to be ready, and you swear you felt his eyes on you, only to disappear every time you looked back at him. ‘Meenoe’ can’t be that wrong, you thought as you wrote down his name on the cup, mentally cursing yourself for knowing nothing about asian names. You called his name, patiently waiting for his reaction as he saw what you had written. You studied his features closely looking for any sign of amusement, while nervously playing with the hem of your apron. Yet again he laughed to himself and this time he pulled out his phone, taking a picture of the cup. A deep sigh escaped you and your heart sank a little bit. A stranger’s name shouldn’t be this important to you, and you could’ve just asked him instead of coming up with weird options, but there was something about him that made you want to keep guessing; you were determined to get it right.

_______________

Your night had been filled with books and frustration as you had tried to catch up on homework. Good news is, you finished three whole assignment, bad news, you only got four hours of sleep. As you took place behind the disk of your workplace yet again, you wanted nothing more than to just sleep on the floor and not deal with more complaining customers. Luckily it turned out to be a quiet day, most of the students having left to see their family for halloween, so you were mostly occupied by cleaning. You were working alone that day and the café was completely empty, right until the bell on the door signified the arrival of a customer.

The tall and kind stranger you knew as Minho stepped inside, taking a moment to warm up before walking up to you. Now that you weren’t busy you took some time to really take in all his features. His dark hair framed his face perfectly and his brown eyes was filled with such a kindness it made your heart flutter. He was dressed in black pants, a maroon turtleneck and a long jacket to fight off the cold weather. You didn’t realize how long you had been staring until he cleared his throat, pulling you out from your thoughts. You almost jumped in panic and rushed to the register to take his order.

‘’Sorry, w-what can I get you?’’ You stammered, not daring to look him in the eye.

‘’The same as yesterday, if you remember that as well as you remembered my name,’’ he smirked, tapping his fingers on the counter.

You nodded silently and wrote down yet another attempt of his name on the cup. He remained by the counter as you proceeded to make his espresso, and your hands were shaking so much you almost dropped every utensil you used. He told you not to rush and that he had plenty of time, probably thinking that was the reason for your clumsiness. If only he knew. You handed him the coffee with shaky hands and a shy smile, your eyes still glued to the ground. He thanked you with a sweet smile and turned around, heading for the door. He took a look at the cup and just as he was about to reach for the door handle he turned around and walked back to you, pointing at the cup. Your eyes widened and panic rose in you once again, your cheeks turning pink.

‘’D-did I forget anything? I’m terribly sorry if I did, it’s been a long night and i’m very tired’’ you rambled, only being confused by his happy expression.

‘’No it’s not that,-’’ he laughed ‘’-you finally spelled it right’’. He put down his cup in favour of pulling out an old receipt from his pocket, as well as grabbing a pen from the disk. He started scribbling down some numbers while you awkwardly shifted in place.

‘’Now that you know, you should maybe practice it so you don’t forget it again. And while you’re at it-’’ He finally handed you the paper with a smile so wide it revealed his - almost unnaturally - white teeth ‘’-why don’t you practice my number as well’’

The entire world suddenly stood still and you could hear your own heart beating. Did he really just give you his number? His bright eyes made you forget every word you knew, so you merely nodded enthusiastically instead; clutching the receipt tightly in your hands like loosing it meant sudden death. Once again he turned around and went for the door, but before he left he turned around and asked you one last question.

‘’What’s your name by the way?’’

‘’Y/N,’’ you smiled ‘’And i’ll let you figure out how to spell it yourself’’

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balkantalia-hub · 7 years

Text

Let’s Start All Over(Croslo Merman AU)

Chapter 1. The Start is Always Rough

Where in the ever loving-“ Janez flipped the covers of the bed for the umpteenth time. "I could have sworn I put the socks in the drawer.” He crouched, peering underneath the dusty mattress. “Not here either.” He muttered. “I guess there’s only one more place for me to check.”

Slowly, Janez approached the bathroom. He peeked through the ever-present crack in the door, a result of poor fitting he was sure. The bathwater was still calm, its occupant still underwater. He widened the crack a bit more, eyes sweeping the inside. The light was off which made it harder to see, but turning the light on when the bathtub guest was asleep seemed kind of rude. Besides, the guest seemed to prefer the dark anyway.

“Aha.” Janez snatched up the scrunched-up pair of socks from the bathroom sink. “Must have put those there when changing my clothes last night. Time…” He checked his phone screen. “Still have enough time to eat breakfast.” He walked over to the refrigerator, opening it only to be faced with empty shelves. “Or not.”

Splash. He turned to the bathroom, a pair of green eyes to shining through the door gap. “Oh, you’re awake. Sorry, no breakfast today.” Another splash, this time louder. “I promise I’ll get you some fish when I come back. You know the drill, be quiet when I’m gone.” He snapped on the socks and grabbed his jacket off the back of the kitchen chair. “Be back soon!”

He shut the door, locking it behind him. 20 minutes before the cafe opens up and 10 minutes to get there. Janez let out a sigh. He really wasn’t adjusting to this merman-coexisting lifestyle very well.

Summer made even the smallest cafe buzz with activity, and the one he worked with was no exception. He filled up the plastic cup with cold coffee, topping it off with a tower of whipped cream. “One order of Mocha Latte Smoothie!” After handing the drink to the customer, Janez retreated behind the register. Customer service. Ugh. Bustling physical labor and acting friendly to strangers for a minimum wage. At least the shift was finally over.

He tore off the apron, slipping back into his favorite jacket as the backdoor opened. He nodded to the other worker, before ducking out the said door. Normally he would have said a polite hello, but he was too frazzled to suppress his social anxiety. Dealing with customer service was bad enough.

Digging through his pockets, he found the two objects he needed the most; a cigarette pack and a lighter. It was the one good thing that came from being here in Croatia, being able to smoke whenever he wanted. He lit the cigarette in one clean move, taking a deep puff. What else was on the schedule. He had to take out the trash, buy groceries, plus some fish for the merman.

The merman. He blew out the smoke, it curling up in the air. Just another thing to complicate his return to Europe. Like he hadn’t had enough on his plate in the first place. He’d found the creature five nights ago, washed up shore, the sand beneath its head red with blood. Luckily the motel staff was absent at the front, so he didn’t have to answer questions about why he was hauling a jumbo ice cooler with a piece of his shirt missing.

Treating the thing was the hard part. The bandages beneath his sleeves were a testament to that. Those claws are sharp. At least the creature had the decency to look guilty for it. Or at least he thought so. It seemed to understand what he was saying so it had to be intelligent. Probably.

Janez laughed. Maybe he’d just gone crazy. That would be the logical conclusion, wouldn’t it? The last few months hadn’t felt real anyway, even when not counting intelligent mermen.

Taking the cigarette out of his mouth, he snubbed it on the thigh of his jeans. The heat felt real enough. So did the bandaged wounds. Grimacing, he pocketed the crunched up stick. Wishful thinking, huh?

A pale building caught the corner of his eye. He squinted at the sign in the distance. Something-something public library. He really needed to learn more Croatian.

A library though… His expression softened. It’d been a while since he’d been able to relax with a good book. Or relax, period. Maybe that was what he needed, a night curled up on a bed with a thick book and some wine. Oh, that sounded really good. Add some cheese there, and mmmm. Paradise.

His thoughts flashed back to the merman. It couldn’t possibly know how to read, right? It didn’t seem to be capable of speech. Actually, come to think about it, it didn’t seem to make any sort of sound…

…He wondered if the library had a book on sign language.

“I’m home!” He clunked the plastic grocery bag on the table. “Let me just change my clothes first.” It was a familiar routine, taking whatever he had on off, and slipping into a fresh oversized pair of T-shirts and slacks. Of course, it would have been better if he’d taken some form of shower beforehand, but that was not an option with the current circumstances. Luckily the day was Friday, so he’d have plenty of time to construct a makeshift shower curtain. Which he’d have to buy the materials for tomorrow since he forgot to do it today. Hindsight truly was a bitch.

“And that goes into the laundromat pile. I’m coming in now!” From the groceries, Janez grabbed another bag, this one heavy with sardines. The merman rose from the water as he pushed open the bathroom door, eyes practically glowing with anticipation. Before he could react, it snatched the bag, digging into its contents. “Woah slow down, you could choke.” Naturally, it ignored him. Not that it bothered him. Definitely, not at all. Still, it wouldn’t hurt to bring the object of interest early.

The creature was already done with the meal, licking its fingers when he returned with the book in hand. Warmth crept up his cheeks like a spider. The half-fish really had no business being that hot. Definitely and completely unfair. He cleared his throat, an effort to alert the merman as well as trying to clear his head. “Hey so, umm.” The words dried up in his mouth. Giving himself a mental kick, he found the trail of his thoughts.

“So, since you don’t seem to be able to talk, and there’s a limit to what you can convey with body language, I tried to find a solution.” He held up the book. “This.”

The merman peered at the cover, brows furrowed. So it couldn’t read after all. Or doesn’t know what the words mean. It could go either way. “It’s a book about sign language. This way, you can say what you want without any limits. Normally you have to learn the alphabet first, but you don’t know what that is, right?” It shook its head in confirmation. “So I thought we can start with some basic words first. You want me to give you a word to try?”

With a wary glance, it nodded. “Okay, let’s see…” He searched the book for an easy enough word and hand gesture. “This means sky.” He moved his fingers slowly, repeating it after a short pause. “Now you try it.” It hesitantly followed, the scales on its fingers shimmering in the cheap white fluorescent light.

“Let’s try spelling your name next, what’s your name?” A blank stare. “You know, what people call each other. A name.” Still blank. He started to get frustrated. “There must have been some other mermen or merpeople you know, right? The thing they called you with?” The merman was starting to avoid eye contact with him when, like a ton of bricks, the realization hit him. “Have…Have you never met anyone before?” There still wasn’t a response, but he knew what the look in those eyes meant. A surge of guilt washed over him. All this time, he’d been treating the merman as just another burden, when it-he obviously had thoughts and emotions of his own. His fist tightened. A complete hypocrite he was.

“Let’s pick out your name then.” The merman turned his head, flecking bits of water everywhere. “It doesn’t matter whether you’ve been alone all this time, you’re with me now so you deserve to have one.” Janez could feel the blush returning in full force. God where did he get all this cheese from? Before he could embarrass himself further, Janez pulled out his phone. He resisted shivering as the merman peeked behind his shoulder, effectively drenching his shirt. After a few taps, he finally found the site he was looking for. “Here it is! A list of Croatian names. Oh boy, there’s a lot…”

The merman flinched as he turned towards him. A pang pulsed underneath his chest. “Do you want to choose? It’s your name after all.” Grabbing a towel from the hanger, Janez held the other’s hand. It was shockingly cold, but it was the merman that was shivering in his grasp. Making sure to be as gentle as his tone, he dried his hand. “Here, now you can scroll down the screen yourself.”

The merman approached the phone, obvious doubt in his eyes. He swiped at the screen with an outstretched finger, like it would attack any second. Janez stifled a laughter. He reminded Janez of those stray cats he used to feed when he was little. “No, not like that. Watch-”

A wet hand suddenly gripped his non-wet shoulder. Yelping, he opened his mouth to complain, but shut it when he saw the other’s face. He’d never seen the merman this emotional before. With a glistening finger, he pointed at a single name on the screen. Janez squinted to see.

“Dražen?” He nodded, excitement clear in his eyes. He pointed to his neck, opening and closing his mouth. “You want me to say it again?” Another nod. “Dražen.” The word rolled off his tongue like a drop of water. It really did fit the merman somehow.

“Dražen.” Janez jolted up, almost tripping over his own foot. Did the merman just… “Dražen.” The husky voice only confirmed his thoughts.

“You can talk?” He looked up at him, with a face as surprised as his.

“I…I…” Damnit even his voice was hot. The merman, well Dražen now, touched his throat. “I don’t…” He spoke haltingly, as if unsure his mouth could work that way. “Did not…”

Janez rested his hand on Dražen’s shoulder. “It’s okay, take your time.” With a rueful laugh, he placed the sign-language book on the sink. “Guess we won’t be needing this anymore.”

“Your…name.”

He blinked. “Oh yeah, I haven’t told you that yet. It’s Janez.”

“Janez…"A shiver ran up his spine. The way Dražen said it almost sounded like a purr. "Th..thank you.” He jolted out of the reverie. “I…couldn’t say it until now.” He looked at him, eyes solemn. “You saved me and I…” Was…was that..red on the merman’s cheeks? He shook his head. No, it couldn’t be.

“Hey, I said it before, it’s okay. I only did what anybody else would do.” Well not exactly this way perhaps, but still.

Dražen cocked his head. “You’re pretty different from other people.”

“Says the one who’s probably sleeping buddies with a shark.” He shot back.

Dražen broke into a laugh and Janez forgot how to breathe. “You basically agreed with me by saying that.”

“Hey you!” Even with the mock strict tone, he couldn’t keep the grin off his face. Maybe this merman-coexisting life would be all right after all.

#yugotalia #balkantalia #aph slovenia #aph croatia #croslo #fanfic #melchi

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