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heartsoulrocknroll · 1 year

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One month later, I have finally mustered the energy to write this trip report. After months of anticipation, I finally got to visit Busch Gardens Tampa and SeaWorld Orlando. This was my first time to BGT. I went to SWO in 2011, but I have only very foggy memories of that trip. I was in Florida from the evening of Friday 2/10 to the afternoon of Monday 2/13. I did BGT Friday evening, all day Sunday, and Monday morning/afternoon. I did SWO all day Saturday. I was able to ride all the coasters, except Scorpion at BGT, which was closed the whole time I was there. Here are my thoughts and rankings!!!!

1) Iron Gwazi - 10 rides, including 3 night rides. MY NEW NUMBER ONE!!!! When I say that this is a life-changing coaster, I do not exaggerate. I have hyped this ride up in my mind for so long, and it still exceeded all my expectations. I expected it to be more intense than most of the other RMCs I have ridden, but my mind was still blown by the intensity after my first ride. I expected it to be ejector airtime city on this thing, but there is a greater quantity of airtime and more aggressive airtime than I could have imagined. I was flung out of my seat on the first drop and on that beautiful outerbanked hill following the drop every time. The barrel roll down drop is taken from such a height and at such a speed that it blows the one on Twisted Timbers, which I love with all my heart, out of the water. I hear people talking about sideways airtime on Fury, and I just think they’re insane. The wave turn on IG actually gives crazy sideways EJECTOR airtime. The stall on IG lasts longer than the one on Steel Vengeance, but surprisingly, isn’t as whippy. You get another great airtime pop on that last drop, then absolutely slam into the brakes. If you have ridden Steel Vengeance, you almost have no choice but to compare the two, and for my money, Iron Gwazi wins. If you have two similar rides, and one has a midcourse brake run and the other does not, the one without the midcourse brakes will usually win for me. Iron Gwazi is shorter, but its pacing is better. You are thrown from one element to the next in rapid-fire succession without a second to catch your breath, and that is one of the most appealing characteristics in a roller coaster to me. I cannot say enough good things about this coaster, and the fact that it is 9.5 hours away from me is eating me up inside. I cannot wait to get back on it.

2) Montu -- 3 rides. I am a B&M invert freak, so this was my second most-anticipated ride of this trip. Again, it did not disappoint. I am so obsessed with this layout. Carowinds is my home park and Afterburn is one of the great loves of my life. Montu and Afterburn have nearly the same layout, so of course I am comparing them. Montu provides all of the positive Gs I love in an invert, with the gray-out-inducing first vertical loop, the foot-ripping batwing, and the whippy corkscrew. But it also throws in that nice, floaty zero-g roll for some variety. I appreciate the extra height that Montu has on the first drop, as well as the additional ride time you get from the second vertical loop, which is still intense and forceful despite coming after the midcourse brake run. But here we are, back to the “two similar rides, one with a midcourse and one without” issue. As a result, I think Afterburn still sits atop the B&M invert throne. It just feels a little better paced and a little more intense to me. But the rides are so similar, I can hardly even separate the two. I love both more than I can adequately describe.

3) Manta -- 3 rides, including 2 night rides. Manta was the second major thrill coaster I ever rode, with my first ride occurring in 2011. I remembered liking it, but now being 12 years older and an insane enthusiast, I am in love. After riding Nighthawk countless times, this B&M flyer is like a dream. This coaster has an excellent blend of intensity and gracefulness. I am obsessed with the pretzel loop. I love positive Gs, and being exposed to them while lying down is a whole different sensation that sort of blows the mind. Also, the inline twists and corkscrew are floaty and buttery smooth. This coaster also has fantastic interactions with the terrain/surroundings, including the dive off the midcourse toward the water (which results in a little splash if you are in the correct seat) and the following bit where the train flies right by the waterfall. I love everything about this ride, except being left hanging on the brake run for minutes on end when operations are slow.

4) Mako -- 6 rides, including 5 night rides. Now THIS is a B&M hyper!!!!!! The first drop gives excellent airtime, especially in the back row. The overbank following the first drop is nice and intense. But that first hill??? It is the most perfect floater airtime hill ever constructed. I don’t think that’s even debatable. It literally gives 5 to 6 solid seconds of airtime. I’ve never experienced anything else like it. The hills on the return run continue to provide good airtime, lifting you out of your seat for a second or two. The ending bit around the fountain provides a couple of fairly steeply banked turns that actually have the slightest bit of whip to them. This is simply a fantastic ride.

5) Kumba -- 3 rides, including 1 true night ride, with the other 2 being evening/almost-dark rides. Oh. My. God. My mind has been blown. Kumba is the prime example of the forcefulness and intensity that I love in a 90s B&M. The pacing is absolutely amazing. It is an inversion-packed layout that never lets up for a second. And every inversion delivers for me. Awesome positives from the vertical loop and dive loop, a super whippy zero-g roll, a nice cobra roll. The mid-course brakes do not hinder the intensity at all, as the second-half corkscrews still have great force to them. And I love the tunnel at the end, especially at night. This is a relatively smooth, well-maintained coaster as well. What a ride!!!!!!

6) SheiKra -- 2 rides, including 1 night ride. I liked SheiKra far more than I expected I would after my disappointing experience with Valravn. Despite having a shorter drop and two fewer inversions, SheiKra is a much better ride, owing largely to the over-the-shoulder restraints, which actually allow for some airtime on the dives and don’t make me feel like I am going to suffocate. The 200-foot first drop is awesome, providing some good airtime on the way down. The Immelman gives good positive Gs. I particularly like the second drop into the tunnel. The splashdown at the end is a nice touch as well.

7) Kraken -- 2 rides. Kraken is very similar to Kumba, as it is also incredibly intense and well-paced with nonstop, back-to-back inversions. Additionally, Kraken's sequence of elements is almost identical to Kumba's, with the exception of a second vertical loop replacing one of Kumba’s corkscrews. Kraken gives great positives throughout, with all the loops, but especially the second vertical loop that goes down into a trench. There are several trenches on this ride, offering a lot of low-to-the-ground moments that add to the forcefulness. One of my favorite moments comes at the end, when you barrel through the tunnel and come flying out into that whippy corkscrew. It sort of depresses me to put Kraken below SheiKra, but I feel that I should for one reason. I hear enthusiasts bitching about a nonexistent "rattle" on B&Ms all the time, and to that I say, you haven't felt a rattle until you've been on Kraken in 2023. It holds this otherwise amazing ride back so much, it's depressing.

8) Cheetah Hunt -- 2 rides, including 1 night ride. After riding Maverick, I think it’s impossible not to be underwhelmed by Cheetah Hunt. With a bit more force in the launches and more whip in the heartline roll and banked turns, this would be an excellent ride. But as it is, the ride is still very fun. The three launches are fun (and necessary to keep the speed up as much as possible). The layout is interesting, with the big drop not coming at the very beginning of the ride. The heartline roll gives some hangtime, which is not really my favorite thing -- the lack of whip there is a real bummer. The banked turns that weave through the rocks and over the water are the best part of the ride. The hill after the third launch gives some decent airtime. Overall, the ride also makes great use of the terrain and surroundings.

9) Ice Breaker -- 1 ride. This ride is short, but still packs in some good elements. I like the backwards drop you get with the swing launch, although the vertical spike is extremely unimpressive and does not feel beyond-vertical, especially if you are sitting toward the front of the train. The best and most unexpected part of this ride is the surprisingly powerful ejector airtime, especially on the small hill just before the tophat, but also going over the tophat and on the small hills in the second half. I know everyone says it, but in this case, that's because it's true -- the comfort collars are garbage and really hold the airtime and the ride overall back. But this is still a good ride that I liked more than I thought I would.

10) Tigris -- 1 night ride. This is also a very short ride. Like Ice Breaker, Tigris provides that backwards dropping aspect, which is unique and fun. The slow heartline roll gives good hangtime, which again, isn't my favorite thing in the world. Going from the force of the launch that gets the ride up to max speed to the slow crawl at which the train takes the heartline roll is a weird transition. Nevertheless, the first half of the ride is pretty fun. The rest doesn't do much for me. Additionally, the comfort collar is even more obnoxious here than it is on Ice Breaker. It genuinely ruins the ride for me.

11) Cobra’s Curse -- 1 ride. Although this coaster obviously and purposely lacks in thrill, it is very enjoyable. I like the novelty of the elevator lift, and the spinning of the trains, although very tame and controlled, is a lot of fun. I wish the spinning lasted for the entire ride, rather than just the final third. The ride also provides really good views of the giraffes.

12) Sand Serpent -- 1 night ride. This is the standard wild mouse layout, with all the lateral-filled tight turns and almost-painful dips that make these rides good fun.

#roller coasters #busch gardens tampa #seaworld orlando #amusement park adventures #personal #iron gwazi #montu #manta #mako #kumba #sheikra #kraken #cheetah hunt #ice breaker #tigris #cobra's curse #sand serpent

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larryfanficwriter98 · 4 years

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Chapter Ten

~Sorry for the long time between updates and the short chapter. My brother just had his wedding Saturday so I've been busy~

Louis laid on Harry's sleeping chest as he scrolled through Instagram. There were multiple photos of them together at SeaWorld from yesterday and he liked every post he came across. He had posted multiple posts this morning, one post was of multiple phots of them together at SeaWorld then another post was multiple pictures of Louis in his outfit by himself, one of Harry kissing Louis' cheek in the mirror, one of their dinner set up, and one of the screen as 50 First Dates played last night. Louis woke up an hour ago, Harry still sleeping peacefully so Louis didn't want to disturb him. He had tried to move. But Harry was a human cuddle, he was attached to Louis and moved with him so Louis resigned himself to laying in bed. Louis locked his phone and tossed it further down the bed then traced delicate designs on Harry’s chest.

" Freddy, my love

I miss you more than

words can say.

Freddy, my love

Please keep in touch

while you're away.

Hearing from you can

make the day

so much better

Getting a souvenir,

Or maybe a letter.

I really flipped over the

Gray cashmere sweater ."

Louis sang softly, he didn't notice when Harry woke up as he was too busy laying on Harry's chest with. His eyes were closed as he snuggled into Harry's neck.

" Freddy, my love.

Freddy, my love.

Freddy, you know

Your absence makes

Me feel so blue

That’s okay though

Your presents makes me

Think of you

My ma will have a heart attack

When she catches

Those peddle pushers with

The black leather patches

Oh, how I wish

I had a jacket

That matches

Freddy, my love.

Freddy, my love .

Don’t keep your

Letters from me,

I thrill to every line.

Your spellings

Kinda crummy

But, Honey so is mine.

I tressure every gifty,

The ring is really nifty,

You say, it cost you fifty,

So you're thrifty,

I don't mind.

Freddy, you'll see

You'll hold me

In your arms someday

And I will be holding

My bridal bouquet

Thinking about it

My heart's pounding already

Knowing when you come home,

We're bound to go steady

And throw your service pay

Around like confetti.

Freddy, my -" Louis stopped as he stared at the phone recording him and a very awake Harry who was grinning as he stared at the screen.

"Good morning." Harry said innocently as he stopped the video and looked at Louis.

"I hate you." Louis rolled over feeling Harry's arms tighten around his body with a grin. Harry cuddled up to his back with only the comforter between their bodies.

"Let's just lay in bed and cuddle some more and sing Grease all day."

"You have a concert today." Harry groaned miserably, "come on we have to get ready and you know it."

"Why can't we just cancel."

"You'll upset your fans."

"Fine." Louis laughed rolling on to his back as Harry the blanket off of his legs and climbed out of bed. Louis watched as he stretched, his once ironed shirt was horribly wrinkled and Louis winced at the messy knot in Harry's hair.

"Do you want me to help you with that?" Louis asked as he stared at the knot

"What?!" Harry asked looking shocked as he looked at Louis.

"Your hair is knotted in the back." Louis explained confused

"My- OH! Oh uh yeah sure. Come on. If I'm up then you're up too."

Louis climbed out of the bed and followed Harry upstairs to his bedroom. Louis sat on the edge of the bed as Harry went to gather hair supplies from the ensuite. Harry came back out with an armful of things and dropped everything on the bed.

"I didn't know how bad the knot is." Harry said sheepishly as he sat on the floor between Louis' knees with his back facing him.

"It's pretty bad, but I've untangled knots on plenty of heads in my lifetime. Five sisters if you recall." Louis told him as he gently worked the hair tie out, "so what is your schedule like after your tour ends?" Louis asked

"I'll be taking a break. Focusing on my family and seeing them. Spending time with you, turning social media off for a while as well."

"That's good. You okay?"

"Yeah just exhausted. I haven't really had a long break between albums and touring. I stayed in California and Orlando these past few years and haven't really been back home to stay in a while."

~~~~~~~~

The next few days passed in a blur of kisses, cuddles, Universal Studios, and Disney World parks. However soon it was everyone's last day in Orlando, the tour bus was at Harry's house and Harry was putting what would fit in his fridge in the bus fridge. Louis helped him pack his clothes for warmer weather in South America and also stole the occasional sweater or shirt. Harry also helped him pack his own stuff along with the souvenirs they got his sisters and brother.

"I can't wait to meet them. They seem really lovely, especially your mom." Harry said as he folded the 2T outfits for Ernest and Doris.

"Well, Lottie and Fiz haven't stopped asking if I'd send pictures to them. Bloody teenagers."

"Have you?"

"No. I refuse to send pictures of my boyfriend to my sisters who not two months ago was convinced they'd marry you. I'll wait for them to calm down before I do anything. My mom however has screenshotted some of the pictures we took together that we shared and is showing you off as her son's boyfriend."

"Is she saying son or boobear?" Louis glared at the laughing man, "I'm curious."

"Shove it where the sun doesn't shine Styles."

"I sunbathe in the nude actually."

"Do you sunbathe with your cheeks spread?"

"LOUIS!" Harry shouted with a red face and huge eyes making Louis laugh

"Just curious Darling."

"No."

"Well, then the sun doesn't shine there does it. Therefore my statement remains the same. Shove your curiosity and comments where the sun doesn't shine, Styles." Harry walked over to him and ran his hands around Louis' waist until they rested on his back with his fingers locking together. Louis grinned as he ran his hands up his arms then locked his fingers behind his neck.

"I'm going to miss you. Miss you in my arms every night and miss kissing you and miss just seeing you."

"I know. I'm going to miss you too, but you only have a month left."

"I know and our families will be together for my last show in Manchester where we'll go out together for a celebratory dinner that I am paying for so make sure your mother leaves her wallet."

"I'll tell her, but she's quite stubborn."

"She passed it to you. I still can't believe we had a whole argument over who would pay the bill at the restaurant."

Louis blushed remembering the argument, eventually, the lady took Harry's card mostly because she didn't care to acknowledge his presence the entire time, but Louis paid the tip. Harry and Louis started arguing again in the car and it was pretty bad considering it was over something so stupid. Louis had sat in the back patio while Harry went to the bedroom and it wasn't until neither of them could fall asleep at two in the morning that they met on the staircase sheepishly. They had apologized to each other for an hour, almost starting another argument about who should apologize, but they had laughed at both of their stubborn natures and talked it through.

It had been their first real conversation about everything. Louis hadn't realized he was nervous about his fans thinking he was with Harry for his money until he said it and Harry hadn't realized how toxic his relationship was until he told Louis how he always paid for everything. How he just so used to handing his card over for anything and everything. Louis had told him he thought Harry thought he was poor when he wasn't and Harry had told him he didn't and trusted Louis to know when and how much he could spend and if at anytime he couldn't it wasn't a big deal. Considering they had only been together for five months it was a serious conversation about finances and money. Louis hadn't realized how serious they were until after that conversation. Finance talk was for serious couples, couples thinking of moving in together and staying together after a year or more of dating. It calmed them both knowing they wer3 both very serious and this wasn't some small relationship until someone else came along.

"To be fair. I planned the dinner so I should have paid."

"Yes alright. Let's not talk about it anymore." Louis chuckled as he zipped up his suitcase, "are you sure I can't change your ticket? Just ride with us to New York and-"

"Harry you know I can't. I have to get home, get back on Manchester time, and get back to work."

"I'm going to miss you is all."

"I know. I'll miss you too." Louis leaned up and kissed Harry gently grinning when Harry kissed him back pulling him in closer, "Just four more weeks."

"I guess." Harry kissed his forehead before pulling him into a tight hug that Louis snuggled into. The rest of the day was spent making sure everyone had everything and spending time together. Harry, Liam, Zayn, and Niall had become close over the week, Harry seemed to have fit himself perfectly on the circle with ease.

Niall and Harry would sit by the pool or fire and play the guitar together, Zayn and Harry would talk about hair products they liked and didn't like and talked about their tattoos with Liam a lot. Liam and Zayn showing Harry some of their couple tattoos. Liam and Harry seemed to do everything else, Harry showing Liam how to cook, how to play guitar with Niall, they once spent five hours in Harry's home studio together. Liam and Harry were probably the closest, always talking about something and even going head to head in air hockey and ping pong in Harry's basement. Harry and Liam were also partners in beer pong after Harry’s last Orlando concert where Harry had a small party with the bandmates and them. Louis was pretty sure Liam was trying to convince Harry on a new tattoo design too since Harry had mentioned he wanted a new one.

Eventually, the time came and they all piled into the tour bus so Harry could take them to the airport and get on the road to New York. New York is the last stop until South America, Ireland then finally back home in the UK. Louis and Harry hugged and kissed and said their goodbyes in the airport before Louis had to go through security.

"Have a safe flight. Text me when you land."

"I will. I'll see you in a few weeks." One last kiss before Louis was following the lads through security and waving at Harry.

"Just a few weeks

Lou." Liam told him

"I know but it doesn't make it any easier." Louis told him

#work in progress #Larry Stylinson #archive of our own #larry fanfiction #larry stylinson fanfiction #larry fic #Wattpad #New Chapter

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harley-sunday · 5 years

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The Draw (02)

Summary: The whirlwind starts at the 2018 ACE Comic Con in Phoenix but you’re not sure where it will end...

Pairing: Sebastian Stan x reader

Warnings: Language.

Word count: 3336

AN: For those of you have been around a little longer - this story was originally published on my secondary blog Leijona Writes, but then taken down again, so you may have already read it :) Either way, please let me know what you think! I don’t have a taglist, but if you follow Harley Sunday x Sebastian Stan you should see any update I post. Masterlist

Your heart starts beating a little faster and you wonder if it’s really him, and just as you’re about to tap the notification to open the email, your boss calls and all of a sudden you find yourself trying to solve a shitstorm of epic proportions because one of your colleagues forgot to submit a document due this morning. You work your ass of trying to make things right so that by ten-thirty you get to call your boss to let her know that the problem is solved and that you’re heading out. She praises your work and promises she’ll cover your overtime, but she’s made promises like that before and you have yet to see any compensation so you shrug it off and tell her you’ll see her again on Monday.

At least the drive home is quick this time of night, with almost no traffic, but by the time you get home you’re so tired that you head straight to bed, completely forgetting about the email you were supposed to read and the presents you were supposed to order.

When you wake up that Saturday it’s close to noon, but you feel a bit better and decide to make the most of your weekend, treating yourself to a breakfast downtown before hitting the shops to spend some money on things you don’t really need. You even manage to find two presents for Jake at the local comic store, one of them a Winter Soldier figurine. It’s then your mind flashes back to yesterday and you mumble a quiet “Shit” when you realize you haven’t read the email yet.

You decide to head back to the same place you had breakfast at this morning, but this time you order a cappuccino and find a quiet table in a corner somewhere, turning your phone over in your hand absentmindedly as you wait for the waitress to bring you your drink. You smile at her once she does and take a deep breath, unlocking your phone and pulling up your email app, your finger hovering over the subject line for a second before you press down and the email opens.

Dear (Y/N),

First of all let me apologize for taking such a long time to reply. It’s been almost three months since Comic Con and while your email was forwarded to me shortly after I wanted to sit down and write a proper reply rather than a rushed and meaningless ‘Thank you for your email’.

But honesty, thank you for your email :)

And of course I remember meeting Jake and you, I think your photo shoot was the most fun I had that day - so thank you for that! You two seem to have a great bond and I think any kid would be lucky to have an aunt like you. I feel bad for the kids who bullied him, because they missed out on having a great friend. Will you please tell Jake that the Winter Soldier has his back no matter what?

Anthony and I both think Jake was the real superhero of that day, helping us out when Captain America bailed on us, and we would therefore like to invite both Jake, his parents and you to the premiere of Infinity War in Los Angeles. Someone from Marvel Studios will contact you by email later this week to send you all the information.

I really hope you can make it, maybe we even get to take another picture for your wall ;)

Thanks again for reaching out, I’ll see you in L.A.!

- Sebastian

You stare at your screen, letting out a breath you didn’t know you were holding before a smile creeps on your face. You read the email again and you let out a quiet “Oh my God,” when you realize Sebastian just made sure you get to give Jake the coolest birthday present ever.

You want to call your brother to tell him the news, but you make yourself wait until you get home, just to calm yourself down enough that you won’t be rambling when you talk to him. You order another cappuccino, the smile not leaving your face and you’re sure the waitress thinks you’re a little strange but honestly you don’t care.

“Hey loser,”

“You’re the loser,” you counter automatically and you smile when you hear your brother chuckle on the other end.

“What’s up?” he asks. “You find anything for Jake’s birthday yet?”

“Yup,” you answer with a smile, letting yourself fall down on your couch, propping your feet up on the coffee table, “Once again, I am the best aunt ever.”

You hear your brother sigh, “What did you do now?”

“Hey,” you say, a little offended. “But ok, listen, after we went to Comic Con I sent an email to Sebastian Stan’s agency, just to thank him for taking the time for us that day, you know?” You wait for your brother to say something, but he stays quiet so you continue, “Well, he emailed back yesterday and invited the four of us to the world premier of Infinity War!”

“Huh,”

“Huh?” you echo, sitting up now because you can feel an argument coming.

“I’m not crazy about this idea,” your brother says.

“Why?”

“Ok, don’t get mad, but last week Jake asked us why we never take him anywhere fun,” he clears his throat, “Sarah took it pretty hard when he said that it’s always you he gets to do fun stuff with,”

“Nate-” you try, but he continues before you have a chance to say anything else.

“I just think that maybe taking him to Comic Con was enough for a while, you know? I mean, it was Legoland last year, SeaWorld the year before that, the kid’s not even eight yet, I think it’s all bit much, and flying to Los Angeles just for a premiere, I don’t know,”

“But it’s all of us, Nate,” you argue, “You and Sarah get to come too, we could make a weekend out of it-”

“Don’t.” He sighs. “Listen, we haven’t told Jake, but things aren’t going great at work right now, ok? Money’s kind of tight and I just, we can’t go.”

You know better than to offer to help out financially, because he nearly bit your head off that time you suggested you’d pay for a trip to Disneyland for all four of you. Instead you try to change his mind one last time, “Can’t I just take Jake then? I promise I won’t plan anything else until he’s at least ten.”

“No,” he says in a way that tells you he’s not going to give in, “and I would really appreciate it if you would just let this go. I’m using my older brother card for this one.”

“Fine,” you grumble, knowing you’ve lost this round. “I’ll see you next weekend then?”

“Yeah, party starts at two,”

“Alright,” you sigh, “See you then.”

You hear him mumble a quiet “Bye,” before he ends the call and you lean back, tapping your phone against your chin as you try to understand your brother’s point of view. And honestly, you know he’s making a valid point, because you do spoil Jake, and it’s not just with these annual trips but also with movie nights and whatever else you can think of that a seven-year old would want to do. Now guilty about making Sarah feel bad you remind yourself to talk to her next Saturday, because you really don’t want to let this come between your sister-in-law and you.

You send your brother a text then, telling him he was right and that he can have his older brother card back for another argument that’s no doubt bound to happen some time later this year and he sends you the peace-sign emoji in return and you smile, knowing that you two are good.

You decide to answer Sebastian that same night, not wanting to drag this out any longer. Plus, it seems like polite thing to do.

Dear Sebastian,

Thank you so much for your email and for inviting us to the Infinity War premiere. It was really nice to read you had fun during the photo shoot, I know Jake had the time of his life!

Unfortunately Jake and his parents won’t be able to make it out to Los Angeles. Thank you again for your kind offer, and please know that the Winter Soldier will always been the one we’re rooting for over here in Charlotte!

All the best,

(Y/N)

The better part of your Sunday is spend doing all sorts of chores you’ve been putting off all week, and so you find yourself at Whole Foods right in the middle of the Sunday afternoon rush, with kids running up and down the aisles and a bunch of babies crying in a weird sort of symphony that make it almost impossible for you to remember what you wrote down on the shopping list you conveniently forgot at home. An old lady has run her shopping cart into your ankles twice over the course of the last minute, making you want to turn around and yell obscenities at her, because fuck lady, watch where you’re going, but you know that would be frowned upon by the other shoppers so instead you wait for her to pass you and then run into her once on purpose, a fake smile plastered on your face as you shrug at her when she turns around and gives you that old lady look filled with disapproval.

You’re feeling miserable and you think about just leaving your shopping cart right here, in the middle of the store, while you escape this hellhole and live on takeaway the rest of the week, but then you wouldn’t be the responsible adult that everyone expects you to be, now would you? So you suck it up and make your way down the aisles, grabbing everything you think you might need at a steady space.

After unloading all your groceries onto the belt you take out your phone, while you wait for the cashier to ring up the lady in front of you, and your heart skips a beat when you see you have another email from Sebastian. You can feel your cheeks heating up and you quickly look around to see if anyone’s noticed, but Jesus, of course no one cares. You quickly put your phone back in your pocket, not wanting to read the email just yet. Slightly distracted you load your groceries into your shopping bag and pay for everything, answering the cashier’s, “Thank you for shopping at Whole Foods,” with a cheerful, “You too!”

You throw her an apologetic smile but she’s already onto the next customer and so you hurry back to your car, quickly putting the bags in your trunk and returning the shopping cart to its designated area. You take out your phone again and sit down on the driver’s seat, pulling up your email app.

Have to keep this short b/c I’m in between takes, but am sorry to hear Jake and his parents can’t make it. You’re still coming right?

-S

You whisper a quiet, “Holy fuck,” and read his message again, your heart beating just a little faster than usual. Closing the email you tap the icon for the texting app and send your best friend a quick note.

You home?

She replies within seconds saying that she is and so you start the car and head over to her place.

“Shut. Up.” Lauren says, eyes wide in shock, after you’ve told her everything that’s happened since your trip to Phoenix. She lets herself fall back against the couch and shakes her head, “This is crazy!”

“I know,” you agree, half laughing, half in shock as well, because somehow it seems even less real now that you’ve told your best friend.

“You are gonna go though, right?” she says, throwing you a look that tells you she’s going to kick your ass all the way over there if you even dare to say no.

Still, you just shrug, because you’re not completely convinced it’s such a good idea.

“Oh come on,” she groans, rolling her eyes, “Not only is the man ridiculously good-looking, but he’s inviting you to the premiere of one of those superhero movies you like so much-”

“The Avengers,” you mutter quietly, because for as long as you have been friends she’s never understood your fascination with comic books.

“Yeah, whatever,” she says, waving her hand dismissively, “Listen, honey, you’re going. End of story.”

“Yeah, but,”

“Ah, ah, ah,” she holds up a finger to silence you, “No buts. Not this time.”

“Laur, come on,” you whine, but really it’s for show because yeah, you’re going.

She knows it too because she just shakes her head at you, taking another sip of her tea before she continues, “So, when is this premiere exactly?”

You’re about to say you don’t know, but of course you’ve already looked it up online, “The 27th.”

“Alright, so here’s what you’re going to do,” Lauren sits up, her eyes sparkling with excitement. She starts ticking things off on her fingers, “Tomorrow you’re going to request some time off from work, preferably two weeks, with some time before and after the premiere,”

You nod, because so far you’re liking where this is going.

“Then, you’re going to email Mr Smooth, saying that, yes, of course you’ll still come,” she sticks out her tongue at you after you’ve rolled your eyes at her, “Next, we’re going to go shopping next Saturday, because you need to look fierce as sh-”

“I can’t,” you interrupt, “Jake’s birthday party is on Saturday.”

“Ok fine,” she sighs, a little too dramatically, “I’ll clear my schedule and we’ll go on Sunday. I suggest you take at least,” she pauses for effect, “at least two days off before they have you fly out to L.A., so we can do some last-minute shopping, get a haircut, a mani-pedi, you know the drill.”

“This all sounds surprisingly similar to our prom prep,” you laugh, “minus the flying to L.A. part, of course.”

“Well yeah,” she states matter-of-factly, “the ultimate goal is the same, isn’t it?”

You just stare at her, not sure what she’s getting at.

“Getting a hot guy to take you back to his hotel room at the end of the night. No?”

Once you get home and your groceries are unpacked and stored away you take out a crumpled up piece of paper from your back pocket, because your best friend is the kind of person who fiercely believes in to-do lists and has written everything down for you. You stick it on the fridge and decide to tackle task number one and two right away, grabbing your laptop from the kitchen table and nestling yourself on the couch right.

You login to your work email and write a short message to your boss, asking for two weeks off starting Wednesday two weeks from now before you then login to your private email and type a quick reply to Sebastian.

I’d love to.

(Y/N)

On Monday your boss tries argues that she can’t really miss you for two weeks, wanting you to take no more than a week, but then you remind her of all the overtime you’ve worked without ever writing it down and she’s quick to give you the extra week.

And even though Sebastian hasn’t replied yet, you do get an email from Julie from Marvel Studios that afternoon, asking you for your personal details. You reply to her that same evening, letting her know that you are more than happy to pay for your ticket because you’re adding an extra four days in L.A. after the premiere but when she sends you your itinerary on Tuesday you see that everything is taken care of and you send both her and Sebastian an email to thank them for their generosity.

“Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you!” Jake exclaims once he’s opened your presents, the biggest smile on his face. He carefully takes the Winter Soldier figurine out of the box and examines it thoroughly.

You plant a kiss on his head before you head to drinks table for a cup of coffee. Sarah’s just filling the tray of cupcakes and you bump hips with her, “Congratulations on with the kid,”

“Thanks,”

“Listen, I uh,” you clear your throat, figuring you might as well get this out of the way, “I’m really sorry if I went a little overboard with taking Jake on trips the last couple of years. Nate told me it was all a bit much and I just want you to know that I’ll tone it down from now on.”

She nods, but doesn’t say anything right away, her gaze landing on Jake, who’s trying on the roller-blades you got him, not paying much attention to the new backpack his parents gave him.

“Shit,” you mutter, turning towards her, “I’m sorry, Sarah. I promise it won’t happen again.”

She smiles then, “Listen, I’m not sure if Nate should have made such a big deal out of it, but I do appreciate what you’re saying. I mean, Jake just turned eight, you know? There’s plenty of time to take him on trips once he’s a little older.”

“Yeah,” you agree and give her a hug, “thanks, sis.”

She nods and walks back to the kitchen, probably getting some more food.

Your brother joins you then, grabbing a cupcake and taking a big bite, following up with a sip of his coffee, “Great party, huh?”

You look at him in amusement, because if there’s one things your parents taught you it was not to speak with your mouth full, but both of you have long foregone that rule. You take a deep breath, because after discussing this thoroughly with your best friend, you and Lauren decided it was best to be honest with him, “So, I’m flying out to L.A. in two weeks.”

He just nods.

It’s making you a little uncomfortable and so you try to explain, “I told Sebastian you couldn’t make it and then he asked if I would still come and I figured I might as well, right?”

“Of course,” Nathan offers, and he’s smiling now, “I just wanted to make you feel bad, loser.” He laughs, “I’m all for my little sister going to this fancy premiere with this handsome movie star. You get it, girl,” he mocks, clicking his fingers.

You smack his arm, but can’t help but laugh, “Asshole.”

“Ugh, no,” Lauren wrinkles her nose in disgust at the dress you’re wearing and hands you two new ones to try one.

Looking at yourself in the mirror you can’t help but agree with her sentiment, the pink dress your wearing doing nothing for your skin tone or figure. You decide to go with the floor length dress Lauren’s handed you, which looks remarkably like the Elie Saab dress you’ve been obsessed with every since you saw it on Elizabeth Banks a couple of years ago.

Lauren audibly gasps when you step out of the changing room, “Wow,”

You turn around, your mouth dropping when you see yourself in the mirror.

“It’s like it’s made for you,” Lauren stammers, as she stands next to you and grabs your hand, giving it a squeeze, “You look gorgeous.”

#The Draw #Sebastian Stan x reader #Harley Sunday x Sebastian Stan #Sebastian Stan Imagine

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flukesandflorida · 6 years

Photo

Went to SeaWorld for Praise Wave last Saturday and saw Micheal W Smith! Didn’t go two days ago for Newsboys because we were on the way home from a trip to Placida (which was an AWESOME time, we had some incredible dolphin encounters in the Gulf of Mexico!)

But anyway here’s a photo from the “Dolphin Days” show a week ago

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"Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom." (James 3:13)

#dolphin #bottlenosedolphin #cetacean #marinemammal #animal #nature #seaworld #seaworldorlando #florida #orlando #praisewave #show #jump #leap #sealife #oceanlife #marinelife

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tepiddreamer · 6 years

Link

Its the Seattle Times reporting incorrectly again, so going to try not to take this news too literally.

The endangered southern resident killer whales, of which just 74 remain, aren’t getting the help they need from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, speakers said at a Saturday meeting in Friday Harbor and another the following day in Seattle. The agency has also not been transparent in its efforts to bring the mammals back from the brink of extinction, they added.

There is a great deal of discourse and anger being thrown at NOAA right now, and let me say that from what I have read and talked to people about, it is more the higher ups can’t make a decision and those below them (who are doing the actual work) are getting the brunt of the hate. I’m not sure how much more transparent you want them to be when they had a running log of sightings, agencies they were working with, and public hearings. I mean that is more than you will ever get with any other agency. I do have to applaud ANY attempts that were made such as the darting with antibiotics and fecal sampling. All agencies involved in that went above and beyond than any other group before them, just sad that it has taken how many years for it to be done.

The public hearings were initially planned to discuss an emergency rescue plan for J50, a southern resident killer whale that was critically ill before being presumed dead on Thursday. Speakers demanded that NOAA take drastic steps to save the orcas, including shutting down fishing for Chinook, creating a whale sanctuary in known foraging areas so the orcas can hunt without vessel traffic, and breaching the Lower Snake River Dams to boost fish returns for the whales.

The fishing ban is difficult because many tribal people rely on the salmon for food. And don’t say ‘oh they can go to the grocery store or hunt other food.’ Not how it works. You are breaking a tradition and standard of living, not gonna happen. So yeah maybe a limitation of sport fishing or license given out to tourist or residents, but again for the most part the issue goes way deeper than just fishing tallies. The Chinook has suffered from polluted waters, loss of spawning grounds, commercial fishing operations, and over fishing. Also the changing of shipping lanes wouldn’t make much of difference in the short term if there aren’t enough fish to eat in the first place. Breach the dams, restore the fish, then we can talk about freighter traffic.

Attendees criticized NOAA for coordinating the now-canceled rescue effort with SeaWorld, the entertainment park that had for decades profited from capturing the animals for use in its aquariums. Lynne Barre, director of southern resident recovery for NOAA, said the agency wanted to take advantage of SeaWorld’s “expertise and resources.” “NOAA has a huge credibility problem with the southern residents. You have known for over a decade they don’t have enough food and now SeaWorld is involved,” Sandy Wright, a Seattle resident, said at the Sunday meeting. “We will not be silent while SeaWorld tries to repair their reputation using the southern residents once again for their own selfish greed.”

There are 18 agencies listed in the NOAA J50/J35 projects. Seaworld is listed as one of them. In reality Seaworld had very little to do with this current case, they may have offered insight in the group think tank such as what medications to use or dewormer, but had little to add to the project. What they have contributed is funds to NOAAs Killer Whale Research and Conservation Project. Science isn’t free. Equipment such as boats, fuel, cameras, lab time and supplies, and payroll is not free. The grants that have been given by Seaworld and Hubbs Institute have helped fund these research efforts and various projects over the years. I don’t know why people constantly point fingers at Seaworld as ‘destroying the SRKW’ when it was multiple billings from several oceanic parks that wanted killer whales. Only 8 of the billed whales actually went to Seaworld, and Corky II and Orky II were originally bought by Marineland. It just happened to be that a former member of Seaworld worked during these operations, and yes it did have a detrimental affect on the population. Although said population did rebound in the 1990s with over 109 confirmed members, but declined again due to pollution and lack for food sources. So I understand that people dislike Seaworld, I get it, but don’t put all the blame on Seaworld when there was 17 other agencies working on the same thing {that did all the work honestly, not Seaworld}. At the same time the person who they are against also works for the WSP, was operations director for Keikos rehabilitation and release, and also oversaw the entire Springer project. So before you bring up sins of the past, think of what he has done in the past few decades to rectify the past and teach the newer generations on the correct capture and release protocols.

Also no one, not NOAA or Seaworld or any other facility wanted J50 to be brought into permanent care. No one was signing checks or bidding on her. There was no secret plan to capture her and ‘place’ her into a park. The only prospect of J50 being brought in for rehabilitation was if she was separated or stranded. Which did not happen.

In a community grieving ceremony for the whales by the Samish Nation in Bowman Bay, mourners paddled offerings of salmon in a canoe out to the waters of the Salish Sea, to honor the whales’ spirits amid song and prayer.

This is interesting and I am interested in learning more. I am glad that the Lummi and Samish nations are working for a future for the SRKW.

So now what? I’m sure news agencies will continue to pump out more bad information and discourse will continue between both sides.You could vote tomorrow to breach the dams, but politics are a slow process and it could take months/years for funds and a work force to be appointed to destroy the dams. Local residents can sue the government and slow the process down even further. We have other issues as well with the GOP defunding the EPA, encouraging new pipe lines on tribal lands or building of more shipping ports, decreasing limitations on CO2 emissions and waste dumping. Also fish populations do not repopulate over night. Restoring the critical spawning grounds is the first step, but there are other plights out there for the Chinook Salmon. Over catch and pollution. Hatcheries giving up or not working with NOAA and other agencies. Commercial Fishing operations spray and feed their fish herbicides and medications, and fecal matter collects below the nets. This creates a toxic cloud around the area and could be a contributing factor to the decline of both the native mammal species and fish. If these enclosures fail then thousands of non-native fish or heavily toxic/parasite ridden fish are released into the area. Pipelines being built that leak and increase in shipping lane traffic affects the animals. Harassment from whale watching vessels. Its a long string of problems that the SRKW face, not just one. These things take time and they don’t have it. Keep educated pressure on the politicians, but don’t use misinformation and lies. That creates more problems in the long run.

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pidaycosplay · 4 years

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PiCast Episode 155 - Sea Safari Park World

Sorry this episode is late! We usually try to post Sunday morning but we were tired Saturday night and had to wait until today to record! We went to Sea World yesterday. We are doing our best to remain safe and socially distant but still experience things when we can! Brittany also took another trip to the San Diego Safari Park (also known as the Wild Animal Park ((WAP)). How are you all dealing with the pandemic and lockdown fatigue? We’d love to hear from you.

Also, November is Adoption Awareness month. We talk about a great organization that helps Foster kids, Together We Rise. Look them up and donate if you can. We sent them some board games to provide to kids in the foster system and last year we volunteered to chaperone a group on a trip to Disneyland. Look them up!

Leave us a Voicemail on the Pi Line 626-66-PIDAY

https://www.facebook.com/PiDayFamily

or Tumblr http://pidaycosplay.tumblr.com

The music in this episode is “Advertime” Written by Rafael Krux. This music is available for commercial and non-commercial purposes. FreePD.com

On this episode:

#SeaWorld #WAP #SanDiegoZoo #SanDeigoSafarriPark #Foster #FosterLove #FosterKids #FosterChildren #FosterFamilies #AdoptionAwarenessMonth #NationalAdoptionMonth #NationalAdoptionAwarenessMonth #NationalAdoptionMonth

#PiCast #PiCast Podcast

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sincerelylaureen · 4 years

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❤️ Saturday, October 10, 2020

I left my house today thinking I was going to the gym this afternoon but guess what happened instead? Dylan texted me saying he wanted to meet over in Kearny Mesa to check out this truck and ya know what he did?! HE BOUGHT A TRUCK! It’s an Chevy Silverado Duramax lol I thought he was just doing an impulse buy but nope he said this one felt different! I’m really happy he was got what he wanted, when I see him ride or drive it, it looks SO him! So after getting his truck we decided to get some Buffalo Wild Wings over by the 8 freeway at the mall! He got this brisket burger and I just had some garlic parmesan wings and then he ordered this AMF drink. It was funny because the waiter was Mexican and he was whispering like “is that the adios matha fackas?” LOL with an accent and all. So we talk about the gladiator I want, customizing it on my phone. Man that’d be so awesome if we both have trucks!!! I also talked about this one girl named Addison Rae right, and I was talking about how much money she made on Tik tok and I told Dylan “oh if I had the face for it...” and he cut me off and said “the face? what do you mean, you’re beautiful”. That was nice of him to say. So the fun part of the night came because we had to drive back and forth from his house and the dealership to pick up his car. Total of 3 times LOL took an hour and a half. That was super calming actually, especially driving on Wildcat Canyon at night, I blasted music. Even though ideally if it was just me by myself I wouldn’t. I knew Dylan was ahead of me lol. We finally get back and he shows Devlin his truck and they talk about it. I go inside, clean myself and then get into bed with him and we watch a movie called ___ It was wild. After that we cuddle and then go to bed. I stayed up for a little bit after him though~

❤️ Sunday, October 11, 2020

So this morning Dylan woke up before me, I woke up a few minutes after him I think because when I opened my eyes he was getting dressed to go to O’Reilly’s and check out a few things. When he got back I was studying on his bed and he asked me if I wanted cheesy eggs so of course I was like uhhh hell yeah I do! I enjoyed it a lot, in the back of my mind I’m like is this how it’s gonna be if we move in together? I know I undercooked my eggs but whatever I’ll make something else lol. So since Devlin and Jess went to Seaworld, Dylan and I lowkey wanted to go too so we check out their discounts! But sadly it didn’t work out, they never called him back :( So instead we actually end up going to the gym and we stay there UNTIL he randomly remembered (in the middle of our workout) that he forgot to clean his dishes and put the eggs away. Okay now I gotta let this out because I felt so bad when I got calm. So in the middle of working out Dylan remembers and says that we go back to the house, clean it and then come back to the gym. My rationale for that being so... not practical at the time was just because 1.) we had to drive back and forth 2.) he could have just texted them and given them a heads up and that he’ll clean it when he gets back. I know he didn’t want any bad vibes, and he never did anything like that so... yeah it’s their house, he was respecting it. That’s the bottom line haha. So anyway we get back to the gym and finish out our hard arm day ahhhh. He really pushes me to do better, I know I give up when I’m by myself. I also can’t go easy on myself much when he’s there because I want to do my best too. I tell him I look at him when he works out tbh, but he doesn’t know that when I do, I don’t just check him out (lol even though I do) but I also kindof just admire him. Sometimes I look over at him on the treadmill and smile at him or in between reps I’d yeah, just look at him. Idk I just feel it. haha. Anyway it was a decent gym sesh. We get back to the house and chill a bit and do a few rides around the neighborhood on the bike!!!! omg honestly I love that thing. I like the size, the speed it just right for me. I got nature around me, a nice breeze, I’m holding a man that I love AND I’m doing something my family doesn’t approve of. Yes, that last one is a point lol. It makes me feel like a rebel but I also feel safe at the same time. After that he spends a little while on the phone because he had to get some insurance for his truck and cancel his old one. Meanwhile I’m watching American Pie Girl’s Rules and it was stupid but not at the same time, a very millennial movie. Ok let me bring to you the highlight of the evening because it has to deal with... yes, A PIZZA. Basically okay he asked me if I was hungry and I said no (but I lowkey was) and he ordered a small to get delivered. It gets to the house and HE EATS IT. Okay I asked for one slice and he was like okay. So I was like okay cool. And i eat that slice but I was still hungry. I waited to see if he offers the last slice but that bitch TAKES THE PIZZA AND EATS IT AND UGHHH IT FRUSTRATED ME SO MUCHHHHHH

#dates

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mayeleventwentytwelve · 4 years

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2018 / 2019 Recap

WOWOWOW!!! I honestly did not realize how long it’s been since I’ve posted on here! But I guess better late than never right? Here we go..

Jan 2018 - we went to the Boil (only remember this because I’m looking back at pics lol!)

Feb 2018 - we celebrated Valentine’s Day with Jherick and ate at the Thai place in Chinatown. We also tried Phil & Anne’s. Food was ok but overpriced!

Mar 2018 - filed form to get my passport. Wahoo! Went to El Vez for mensiversary.

Apr 2018 - we started playing a lot of basketball. This one Saturday, Spencer met up with us after his class and we played. Then went to Roli where Jherick had a tick on him lol yikes

May 2018 - our 6th year anniversary! We went to Unos. Food was ok, I remember one dish I think the pizza took FOREVER so they ended up giving us free dessert. We also went to Florida with Spencer/ Ruby. I think this was our first trip that involved a flight with them. We went to I think both Island of Adventure & Universal right? And we also went to SeaWorld. Poor Spencer threw up here after eating uncooked eggs made my his lady LOL. I miss the metro café place near the entrance of Universal, by Hulk. The Chicken Alfredo there is yummy! The Airbnb we had here was nice, it was super nice that we had 2 bathrooms lol. And a pool that we got to use on our last night. Luckily we had it all to ourselves. We also got to make your famous spaghetti. **I want Spaghetti in Jherick's voice** The morning of our flight back to NYC, we made Spam musubi right? And we had so much extra so we packed it in an empty Pringles can haha but we ended up throwing it away.

Jun 2018 - your birthday!! You turned 25! Quarter of a century, young baby. I took you to Peter Luger to celebrate! We also got to see Paramore w/ Jherick, courtesy of Live Nation free tickets.

Jul 2018 - played lots of basketball on the weekends. Went to Noreetuh for our mensiversary.

Aug 2018 - had Fogo w/ John & O'neal! We also ate at the Boil for our mensiversary. We also went Tree Top Adventure! That was really fun, but too bad you had to tap out early lol! You wanted to be a big boy and try to climb up the rope but nope. We also went mini golfing & paddle boating or something like that.

Sep 2018 - my birthday! I turned the big 26. Wahhh. Went to El Vez w/ Ruby & Spencer. Got the green tea crepe cake, yummy!

Oct 2018 - saw Bruno Mars in concert! One of the best that I've thoroughly enjoyed.

Nov 2018 - Ruby's birthday! We went to Pennsylvania for Hershey Park. It was a fun trip. I remember the night before we were all on Discord & we told Ruby to pack her bags. But never said for how many days.. oops! But most importantly, this month we went to Japan!! Our first INTERNATIONAL, might I add.. LONG AS HELL! trip. I remember it was like a midnight flight, we ate around 2AM and best of all, they gave us Hagan Daaz ice cream! I didn't sleep too much on the plane but I did fall asleep here & there. It took maybe 14 hours until we landed in Beijing for a layover. I remember getting 2 sandwiches & water to hold us through. Then we finally landed in Tokyo!! We met up w/ Rui? I forgot the Airbnb guys name. I just remember taking a pic & sending it to him so he knew what we looked like since he was picking us up from the train station. I remember when we landed & went thru Customs, I took a whole bunch of free paper and magazines by the exit lol. And then seeing the lines of people patiently waiting for the train. Anyway, Rui spedwalk like crazy to the Airbnb. Luckily it was near the train station, it was so nice. Little studio and had the best bathroom EVER. Your favorite, the bidet. I remember nearly breaking the washing machine lol. It took hours to wash & dry man. I remember the first night, we showered & then headed out to explore. Walked around a little bit and I think we had that cold ramen the first night? I remember being sooooo exhausted, you have a video of me walking in the Airbnb like a lifeless zombie lol. The first day we visited the doggie statue. I'm not going to go day by day because it's all a blur. We went to Harajuku and got the big cotton candy cone. We had that cute ice cream. The crepe from the alleyway. We went into Daiso where I got my chapstick that I love so much. We visited a lot of anime/ figure stores. We visited the arcade. A lot of the gatchiflan toy thingies. We had more ramen (by our Airbnb). We had sushi on the last night I think. We tried that rotating sushi bar place but it was like a 1.5-2 hour wait so we said oh hell nah and ended up eating near our Airbnb. We had a lot of breakfast buns and onigiris from 7-11. And Family Mart. And Don Quiote where we got a lot of snacks & my favorite peach tea drink. We also tried Lotteria which was no Bueno. Taco Bell & Wendys were cool though. Did we try McDonalds? We spent our Thanskgiving at Ginza! a5 Wagyu, yummy yummy in my tummy. Everything was so good there. I remember we also went to the worlds biggest Uniqlo! You got your coat there & I got my pink fuzzy sweater & I think we got house slippers too our first night. That area we were walking around reminded me of 5th ave in the city, lots of shopping stores. We also had that fried beef thingy down in that basement restaurant. That was really good too. We also went to the shrines where we had to wash our hands & I remember we got to the burning ashes area and you told me to inhale it but really we were just suppose to swoop the smoke into our hair for good luck lol. This was also where there were a whole bunch of markets and we found our Kenji key chains. And where you spent $10 for gold foil ice cream. Our wifi at the Airbnb also went out like that second or third night. So the hosts told us to use the portable wifi. I think we probably used up so much they had to close their Airbnb :( lol Aside from me being cranky & tired, this was all in all a really good trip! I know it was your favorite.. even over the Paris one *eyeroll*

Dec 2018 - this is where you helped me setup my cpu area. We went to Ikea and bought my table & chair. Wahoo!

Jan 2019 - don't really remember much from this month.

Feb 2019 - we went Axe throwing!

Mar 2019 - I finally got 2 of my wisdom tooth removed. I think this was the month we went snowtubing w/ Helen & Carlo? This was also the month Jensen was born! Love that little mans.

Apr 2019 - I surprised you at Yayas w/ your airpods.

May 2019 - our SEVEN year anniversary! Celebrated at no other place than Fogo. We also saw Spencer graduate from Med school and again went to Fogo to celebrate lol. We went hiking this month too. That was fun. We also went to Governors Island where you chauffeured me around on a bike hehe. And then we ate at that diner place on Montague St. I really liked the food there. And then we ate at Blossom, our first time. It was soooo good.

Jun 2019 - our second international trip! To Spain. We went to Madrid which was fine, then Seville which was the best because of that tapas place & then Barcelona which was the worst because you got mugged :( It's otay Jeffrey it's otay. I know you're still traumatized. The most memorable thing I will take from this trip is how Spencer projectile vomited for like an hour.. it was on your birthday! We ate at that steak place & when we got home he was in the bathroom and we just heard him puking his guts out. Then when we finally think it subsided, I decided to brush my teeth while Ruby showered and then I turn around and get started by Spencer and he goes, "Can I throw up now?" And then I manned up and wrapped my hand and arm in like 4 trash bags to unclog the sink. YUCK! And then the last day there, we ate at that yummy brunch spot we ate at 2 times. And Spencer blew up the bathroom. He had the SHIETTTTTS.

Jul 2019 - don't really remember much here. But you started your diet this month right?

Aug 2019 - we went to California! San Francisco & LA. Had fun on this trip, weather was nice. Food was good. Got to visit Vy and the doggies. Went hiking with the bears and snakes haha. Spencer & Ruby took me to the zoo while you visited your friend.

Sep 2019 - my 27th birthday! We went to the Boil. And I remember you made me watch the video you made there & there was a little part of me that thought at the end of the video, you were going to propose to me LOL

Oct 2019 - we went to Boston. Worst goddamn trip ever. Stuck on the never ending ride back home. We went to 6 flags here right? This month was also hard because I lost my papa.

Nov 2019 - celebrated Jherick's 21st birthday at Fogo! We went to the boil for mensiversary. For Thanksgiving, you came over Diana's and pigged out lol.

Dec 2019 - another cheat month for you. Went to Diana's for Christmas.

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kelleyandmickey · 5 years

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October 2, 2019

I have passed the one month mark! Things are challenging, but I am doing my best to battle through.

My mental health has been taking me for a ride lately, and I have also been pretty homesick, and then actual sick. I have been told that pretty much everyone gets sick in their first month here, so I guess it’s a bit of a rite of passage.

I don’t get along amazingly with my roommates, and I feel a bit alienated because I am not Mexican. They have friends over late at night a lot, which is not something I love, especially after I’ve just come home from work. But I don’t want to be “that” roommate, so I’ve just been living with it. Since I have passed 30 days, Taylor and I can put in a voluntary move request and possibly get a room together, which would improve things significantly.

But among the not great things, there are some great things!

On my one month anniversary (September 26), I completed the “Mormon Challenge”, which is inspired by the musical, The Book of Mormon. In the song “Two by Two” (listen to it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_T_NYZesRdY ) Elder Price sings about his dream mission location being Orlando because of SeaWorld, Disney and Putt Putt Golfing. Well, the challenge is just that, all three of those things in one day. My steadfast cohorts from the pavilion, Eric and Eva, and I started the day at SeaWorld at 10am (I got lucky, and an annual passholder gave me a guest pass he wasn’t going to use, so I got in for free!). We rode all the roller coasters (I have been told that they’re the best in Orlando, and I agree), saw the Sea Lion show, and then my early childhood dreams came true with a visit to SeaWorld’s newest land: Sesame Street! We walked through the land (very immersive and interactive!), and met Cookie Monster, Elmo, Big Bird, and my preschool favourites: Ernie and Bert! It was probably one of the best themed lands I have been to! Kudos, SeaWorld! After about 5 hours at SeaWorld, we hopped a Lyft to Disney’s Hollywood Studios. We were already feeling pretty spent, so we only did one attraction: we had a FastPass for Toy Story Midway Mania. From there, we took the Friendship Boat to the Swan and Dolphin to play a round of Putt Putt at Fantasia Gardens. Despite working 4 summers at a Mini Golf course, I am still pretty terrible at it. Challenge complete! But we were hungry after all that excitement, so we added a bonus stop at Disney Springs to have Guy Fieri’s Chicken Guy, which is my favourite place to eat on property as of now. This day was my first proper adventure off of Disney property. Overall, a very tiring, but fantastic day!

This week has been a crazy one at Epcot, with the Food and Wine Festival, the final shows of the IllumiNations fireworks show (which has been running in some capacity since 1988, and in the most recent version, Reflections of Earth, since 1999) and the opening of a new temporary show, Epcot Forever. The park hit capacity on both Saturday and Monday, meaning we had more than 60,000 guests come through the gates! Crazy! For the final IllumiNations show on Monday, we had guests staking out their spots as early as park open at 9am (the show was at 9pm!). I was upstairs at post 1 (inside the shop) for most of the night, so I missed most of the nuttiness down on the promenade, but I can only imagine! It’s pretty cool to be working at Epcot during this time of significant change, we get to see so many things happening. I’ll have been here for THREE different fireworks shows on the World Showcase Lagoon in my time here, with the opening of HarmoniUS next year.

Yesterday, I finally got to see my wonderful actor friend from back home, Justine and her husband Evan, who came to visit me at work. Justine and I have known eachother since we were in the same year at MRU, and we have done Naughty but Nice for 3 seasons. I am so excited that she’s recently moved here, and I hope we get to hang out lots! We’re already planning to go to shows together, and to see our friends in the We Will Rock You tour next month :)

Also yesterday, I was feeling a bit down, and I got an e-mail from the service centre saying I got a package. I didn’t order anything.... I went to pick it up, and lo and behold, it’s an envelope full of my favourite Canadian candy sent to me by my amazing best friends, Tori and Connor. It was just what I needed, and I am so grateful <3

I think that’s all for now. Talk soon!

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southernmidwestgeek · 5 years

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My First Saturday Off

Almost two years my work schedule was me working every weekend. This was hard on me because prior to this I was at a job where I worked Monday thru Friday. It was hard on the marriage because were used to doing activities on the weekends. But that's in the past and this is the present so... 😃 My first Saturday I spent at SeaWorld. My Queen is like a kid when visiting amusement parks. She's not into the rides, she loves the shows...ALL of the shows.

 It was cool. The first show was SeaWorld "Summer Concerts" series and I don't know why it didn't dawn on me when I seeing the act it was Vertical Horizon...the actual group and not a name of a SeaWorld act. (Am I making sense? 😳 Anyhow...)

 Watching them perform was a treat. I was mad at myself because I forgot a pair of noise reduction earbuds. I never leave without them. I don't know but listening to loud music I where them because to be honest I can hear the music better. I don't the technical term for this but it makes the music sound much clearer.

 Matt Scannell's vocals was just as strong now than in the 90's which is cool thing. I didn't realized he's a lead guitarist too which for me was a surprise and an extra treat. The line up was on point and they brought the fire to each tune. It was cool to watch them perform.

 Then we went to see the Shamu Show...twice. The first show was daytime show and the evening show was called "Electric Ocean". Not a bad show. I didn't sit in the "Soak Zone" but guess who did? Next time we go back I sit down there with her and this time I will have a waterproof pouch for my phone to take photos.

 (Quick Tip: I always use quart size Ziploc FREEZER bags. These bags are best when using for keeping your important belongs safe and dry. Don't use the regular sandwich bags, use the freezer bags). We ended the night watching the fireworks and I have to admit it's better than Epcot or Universal Studios show. A combination of a water fountain show, flames, and fireworks was a cool way to end the evening.

 My only gripe was again at myself. I allowed myself to be talked into wearing these FUBU sneakers. They looked liked orthopedic shoes and hurt like the dickens. I should have worn my Chucks with my Dr. Scholl's. Going forward this will be my "go to sneakers" when going to the parks or a great pair of Nike shoes.

 Overall the evening was cool and Wifey had a blast. To be honest that's all that matters because off on the weekends again feel good. The bad news for me I have close to two years of making up weekends since working weekends. Oh boy. 😳😜 I have a handful of photographs of my trip to SeaWorld on my Google Photo page. 🙂

 Vertical Horizon current lineup... Matt Scannell – lead vocals, lead guitar (1990–present) Ron LaVella – drums (2009–present) Donovan White – guitar, backing vocals (2012–present) Mark Pacificar – bass, backing vocals (2016–present) 

#Vertical Horizon #SeaWorld #Orlando #Shamu Shows #Fireworks

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carmineri · 5 years

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The SATURDAY SIX Tells You How to Get to Sesame Street in SeaWorld Orlando

This week’s SATURDAY SIX takes a look at SESAME STREET in SeaWorld Orlando! While we normally find ourselves at Walt Disney World or Universal Orlando, occasionally we venture outside “the bubble” to visit other family friendly locations in Florida including Legoland, Busch Gardens, and SeaWorld. While we’re all watching Universal and The Mouse continue their theme park arms race, all of their competitors have also elevated their game as well. This past week SeaWorld unveiled their latest park addition based around the popular Sesame Street brand, so we went to check it out and see if it was worth bringing your imaginary friend to. Here’s what we found….

# 6 – The Rides

Similar to how Disney California Adventure opened Pixar Pier with a re-themed California Screamin’ ride now branded to the Incredicoaster, all the rides in Sesame Street have been retrofitted from the area’s former resident: Shamu’s Happy Harbor. The good news is that they all look adorable, and – even better – there are a whole bunch of them! With rides based around popular characters including Cookie Monster, Oscar the Grouch, Elmo, Abby Cadabby and more, the little ones in your party will have a blast enjoying all that there is to offer.

Cookie Monster-themed Cookie Drop drop tower. (photo by Megan Stump)

Abby Cadabby-themed Flower Tower ride. (photo by Megan Stump)

Slimey’s Slider takes little ones through Oscar’s compost pile. (photo by @bioreconstruct)

Elmo’s Choo Choo Train. (photo by Megan Stump)

Elmo’s Choo Choo Train. (photo by @bioreconstruct)

Big Bird’s Twirl ‘n’ Whirl. (photo by Megan Stump)

Super Grover’s Box Car Derby is a steel coaster for the younger set. (photo by Megan Stump)

On the attraction signs there is also a Sensory Guide. SeaWorld is Orlando’s most progressive theme park when it comes to Autism Awareness, with both Aquatica and Discovery Cove being officially certified autism centers. For Sesame Street at SeaWorld, the autism education signage outlines the stimulation levels for each particular attraction.

Example of Sensory Guide. (photo by Megan Stump)

# 5 – The food and drink options

The dining options at Sesame Street come via food trucks, and the results are surprisingly good. ABC Eats offers grilled and crispy chicken tenders along with chicken tempura, while the Yummy Yummy Nom Noms truck offers a variety of grilled cheese sandwiches. The Sesame Sips drink stand serves must-try smoothies, icees, and to-go snacks.

ABC Eats food truck. (photo by Megan Stump)

ABC Eats menu. (photo by Megan Stump)

Yummy Yummy Nom Noms food truck. (photo by Megan Stump)

Menu for Yummy Yummy Nom Noms truck. (photo by @bioreconstruct)

Veggie grilled cheese sandwich. (photo by @bioreconstruct)

Hawaiian grilled cheese sandwich. (photo by Megan Stump)

Hawaiian grilled chicken tenders. (photo by Megan Stump)

The smoothies at Sesame Street are seemingly half fruit. They were a huge hit with our gang.

Sesame Sips smoothie menu. (photo by Megan Stump)

Big Bird’s Pineapple Delight smoothie. (photo by Megan Stump)

Abby’s Strawberry Sparkle smoothie. (photo by Megan Stump)

Cookie Monster Chocolate Chippy. (photo by Megan Stump)

# 4 – The merchandise

Have to admit we didn’t see this coming, as the merchandise offered at Sesame Street rivals the quality that you’ll find at either Disney or Universal, with the t-shirt game being especially strong. There are sections of items dedicated to all the major characters, including Cookie Monster, Oscar the Grouch, Elmo and Abby, but also a wide selection of Sesame Street merchandise too. SeaWorld annual pass discounts are available for all merchandise purchases as well as the food trucks.

Sesame Street 50 Years shirt. (photo by bio)

More 50 Years items. (photo by Megan Stump)

Elmo dabbing t-shirt. (photo by Megan Stump)

Elmo flossing t-shirt. (photo by Megan Stump)

The Count t-shirt done like the logo for Batman. (photo by Megan Stump)

How incredible is this shirt? (photo by @bioreconstruct)

Cookie Monster shirt. (photo by @bioreconstruct)

One of the top five t-shirts in theme park history. (photo by Megan Stump)

This may be the second Cookie Monster t-shirt in my theme park top five shirts. Just INCREDIBLE. (photo by Megan Stump)

More Cookie Monster merchandise. (photo by Megan Stump)

T-shirt featuring Cookie Monster and Oscar the Grouch. (photo by Megan Stump)

LOVE the Oscar/Cookie Monster shirt on the right. (photo by Megan Stump)

Oscar the Grouch plush. (photo by @bioreconstruct)

Oscar the Grouch spirit jersey shirt. (photo by Megan Stump)

Sesame Street merchandise. (photo by Megan Stump)

# 3 – The interactive elements

Throughout Sesame Street there is a ton of interactivity. Guests are encouraged to touch, tap, and play with things throughout the land. There are games such as the Bike Shop Tricycle Challenge and Cookie Monster’s Foodie Truck Challenge along with neat Create-A-Monster feature where kids can create their own digital character. There are many window displays in Sesame Street that are screen based that are just plain fun to watch as there’s something to be said about the cuteness and humor of Sesame Street muppets that appeals to both kids and adults. Our favorite was Yip Yip’s Mail Slot, where guests lift the handle of a mail slot to see various scenes of the Yip Yip martians in different locations that was completely bonkers.

Cookie Monster food truck interactive spot. (photo by @bioreconstruct)

Oscar the Grouch interactive can. (photo by @bioreconstruct)

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While many of the interactions in Sesame Street can be accessed by everyone, there are some other special ones that can only be discovered by using SeaWorld’s version of a interactive Wizarding World wand from Ollivanders. The Elm0-themed wand also doubles as a regular bubble wands, another item kids love.

Interactive light-up bubble wand. (photo by Megan Stump)

# 2 – SeaWorld’s FIRST EVER daily parade

That’s right, with the debut of the Sesame Street Party Parade, SeaWorld Orlando now features just as many daily parades as Walt Disney World. Featuring all the major characters and catchy music, guests get to watch various floats themed to the Sesame Street universe pass by. Like Universal’s Superstar parade, the SeaWorld parade stops to allow characters to interact with guests and lets kids play in the party.

Sesame Street Party Parade. (photo by Megan Stump)

Elmo’s float. (photo by Megan Stump)

The Count’s float. (photo by Megan Stump)

Bert and Ernie on a float themed to Hooper’s Store. (photo by Megan Stump)

Prarie Dawn on Hooper’s Store float. (photo by Megan Stump)

Oscar the Grouch. (photo by Megan Stump)

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Cookie Monster float. (photo by Megan Stump)

Elmo balloon float closes out the parade. (photo by Megan Stump)

# 1 – The Details!

For both kids and adults who grew up with Sesame Street, the land brings this world to life in a wonderful way. All the areas that you want to see recreated are done faithfully, including Hooper’s Store, Big Bird’s nest, and Bert & Ernie’s building. Besides the nostalgia, what makes the area great to walk around in for adults are all the fantastic details found in every nook and cranny. The Broadway-style posters are all mashups of Sesame Street characters and actual Broadway productions like Hairspray, Les Miserables, and Jersey Boys. Be sure to look at all the names on the subway maps. The newsstand has themed papers and snacks. SeaWorld Orlando hit it out of the park with this one, as this is the Sesame Street we always wanted to visit.

Sesame Street facades. (photo by @bioreconstruct)

Bert and Ernie’s apartment area. (photo by Megan Stump)

Hamilton poster themed to Oscar the Grouch. . (photo by Megan Stump)

More Broadway-style posters featuring Sesame Street characters. (photo by @bioreconstruct)

Man of La Muncha is just about as good as it gets. Like Jim Henson’s Muppets, Sesame Street can appeal both to young kids as well as their parents in completely different ways. (photo by @bioreconstruct)

Sesame Street newspapers. (photo @by bioreconstruct)

The Dixie Chickens headline Sesame Street’s music festival! (photo by @bioreconstruct)

Themed white board. (photo by @bioreconstruct)

Guests can now enter Hooper’s Store. (photo by @bioreconstruct)

Inside of Hooper’s Store. (photo by Megan Stump)

Mr. Hooper. (photo by Megan Stump)

The reason for “returns” is so so great. (photo by Megan Stump)

One of the attractions at Sesame Street is Storytime with Big Bird. This takes place at Bird’s nest, which offers some great photo-ops for guests.

Storytime with Big Bird. (photo by Megan Stump)

Big Bird’s nest. (photo by Megan Stump)

Big Bird and Snuffy. (photo by Megan Stump)

Big Bird in his nest for Storytime. (photo by Megan Stump)

Honorable Mention – Meet the characters

After Storytime with with Big Bird, guests get to meet Big Bird himself. They can also go to a dedicated meet and greet area for one-on-one time with Elmo and Cookie Monster. The photos themselves are taken in front of a green screen, which allows for a lot of customization for those who want to purchase photos (but you can also take photos with your own camera.)

Elmo and Cookie Monster meet and greet area. (photo by @bioreconstruct)

Big Bird is actually stooping down in this photo. He is HUGE!

So there you have it: Six Reasons We Love Sesame Street at SeaWorld Orlando! See you next weekend for the latest installment of the SATURDAY SIX, where we’ll look at something fun from the world of Disney and Universal. If you enjoyed yourself, be sure to check out The Magic, The Memories, and Merch! articles, or, for your listening pleasure, check out the E-Ticket Report podcast. You can also follow Your Humble Author on Twitter (@derekburgan).

If you enjoyed this article, you will surely like the following:

6 Reasons You Need to Check Out SeaWorld Orlando

6 Reasons We Love LEGOLAND FLORIDA

6 Reasons We Love TOY STORY LAND

The SATURDAY SIX Takes a Look at the DISNEY DUMP

Special Thanks to The Elite Brandon Glover, Captain Cruiseline Scott Sanders of the world famous Disney Cruise Line Blog and his wonderful wife Emily, the bio-est of all reconstructs @bioreconstruct, the SAT SIX Fun Squad of Parkscope Joe and Nick, and Hermione Granger’s tutor Megan Stump for their invaluable assistance with this article. The SAT SIX is inspired each week by goofballs Aengus Mackenzie and LitemAndHyde and you Potterheads will enjoy Meg’s other blog work over at the Central Florida Slug Club.

FINAL PLUG! Did you know The 2019 Unofficial Guide to Universal Orlando has a special edition of the SATURDAY SIX in it?That’s right, ANOTHER NEW ONE EXCLUSIVE TO THIS EDITION!Finally, someone came up with an actual reason to read a book. ORDER this baby now!

The Count knows what’s up.

The post The SATURDAY SIX Tells You How to Get to Sesame Street in SeaWorld Orlando appeared first on TouringPlans.com Blog.

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johnnypovolny · 5 years

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El Calafate, Argentina. 3/2-3/7

Saturday 3/2: Arrived in El Calafate, Argentica on a bus from Puerto Natales with Di/Lo and checked into a hostel called Del Glaciar Pioneros. Went to explore the town a bit and get some late afternoon lunch/early dinner. Ended up at a crepe restaurant on a little sunlit patio with brightly colored tables and chairs. Afterwards, we wandered to grab supplies for lunch and dinner tomorrow bread and vegetables/fruit from some a local produce shop and the bakery next door, then got a few more things we needed from the supermarket on the main drag and wandered around doing some more errands (the girls got postcards, I changed money, we got bus tickets for the national park, etc)(. Other travelers I’ve met have talked down about El Calafate for being a little touristy (it’s the jumping off point for Los Glaciares National Park), but I disagree and actually really like the vibe: it’s not touristy in a loud, offensive way, but feels more like a ski town or Carmel on the california coast: lots of trees and greenery on the main drag, restaurants and shops that sell Argentine products like alfahores and dulce de leche, and lots of different types of people lazily vacationing (including what seems like lots of Argentinians- it’s not just backpackers). Prices are noticeably cheaper than in Chile though still not crazy low like in Mexico or Asia. The whole town is set among high mesas of tan grass and dirt, kind of reminds me of Eastern Oregon out past the Gorge.

Sunday 3/3: Grabbed a bus to Los Glaciares National Park, which contains a variety of glaciers coming down into Lago Argentina from the Southern Patagonian Ice Field (if a glacier is an ice river, this is an ice sea- it stretches on the Chilean/Argentine border for hundreds of miles and is the 2nd largest reserve of freshwater ice in the world after the ice fields of Antarctica) The main attraction in the park is the Perito Moreno Glacier, the only glacier in the world that is advancing rather than retreating. After seeing glacier grey, I was wondering if Perito Moreno might be more of the same (and even thought it might be when I saw it from a distance on the bus- the view was beautiful similar). I couldn’t have been more wrong and I’m so glad I went to see it. The glacier is a much brighter, more intense blue than Glacier Grey, dumps into a lake of shocking teal, and is incredibly close to the peninsula from which it’s viewed, so the up close effect is much more shocking. We walked along a coast route from the right end of it to the left and got a ton of different perspectives- it was really cool to see it from right in front of the tallest part and get a sense for the scale of the face, (it’s 240 feet high and stretches 3.1 miles wide), from alongside the point where it curves out the furthest so we could look along parallel to the face, and from higher balconies on the trail up on top of the hills where we could compare its immense size to the boats on the lake and see the top better to get a good look at the rolling hills, valleys, and sharp peaks of ice that cover the surface. I’ve always thought of glaciers as smooth but they’re not, they’re incredibly jagged and covered in crevices. But the best part about being up close is that you get to see how alive the glacier is: it talks in resounding creaks, groans and cracks and more than once we watched it “calve”. This is when huge walls of ice would shear off and drop vertically into the lake, or pillars the size of a school bus or semi truck would crack off and tip over, sending up huge “splash zone at seaworld” style spray and creating big waves that wash across the lake. It was incredible to watch that process of immense change right in front of your eyes. After the national park we went back and cooked pasta at the hostel (Lucy came over to hang for a while because Luke is sick with food poisoning) and then Tika (my friend from the Navimag ferry that I bumped into again in the park) came over to meet us to go get beers. On the way to the hostel she got bitten by a street dog, so she had to go to the hospital the next day and get rabies shots. Diana finally got her chance to pull out the doctoring skills and cleaned the wound up. We went to a brewery/bar called La Zorra which has a nice vibe- very warm and well lit with cheap and good quality microbrews. Played cards and all talked and laughed for hours- ended up coming home at like 230.

Monday 3/4: Spent most of the day doing stuff on my computer; working on some banking stuff and planning the next phase of my travels: thinking of heading towards the Atacama desert and the Uyuni salt flats, then up to Lima to hang out for a few months and eat as much good ceviche as I can cram in my face hole. In the evening Di, Lo and I went to down to the Lake to drink wine on this super fancy looking wood playground in the park and watch the sunset light up the clouds from behind like they were translucent, and then met up with Luke and Lucy to grab a beer at a small restaurant around the corner from La Zorra and play jenga. Said goodbye to Luke and Lucy (just to be goofy Diana lit the candles she’d bought for the chocolate she brought to the sunset and Laura and I started singing the graduation friends forever song). After the Aussies headed to bed, the three of us went back to La Zorra to just hang and talk- the girls had a 3am bus so they were staying up late and then going back to pack. Said goodbye to them and they headed to the bus- it was pretty sad, we’ve quickly become really good friends, but maybe they’ll come through on #morocco2020.

Tuesday 3/5: Had lunch at Pura Vida, this restaurant in a brightly colored house just outside downtown with a mindfulness theme- lots of buddhist statues and nice quotes around (but the effect was really calming rather than pretentious). Sat in the warm sun on the back balcony, a dark wood area of a few tables looking over a sloping garden of a grass hill interspersed with a few big rocks and bordered by a big wall of trees with thick hanging leaves on one side and a stone wall on the other that reminded me of a little french restaurant in a courtyard or a farm house in the English countryside. It was a super pleasant ambience, totally peaceful in the sun, and the food was great: a round loaf of dense white bread with a crispy crust and queso untable (a cheese spread somewhere between butter and cream cheese), guiso de lentajes (lentil stew with bacon, tomatoes, carrots, and chorizo), and float made from champagne and lemon sorbet. Felt like a sleepy old man falling into a nap at my table in the sun, so I went home to the hostel to crash for a few hours (I think my body is crashing now that I’m alone and unoccupied for the first time in days of frenetic activity and friendship). Had the chance to catch up with Mom and Mark/Erin on FaceTime which is always great- nice to get time to connect with home and family.

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myaekingheart · 7 years

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Even more weird dreams in the past two nights. I had one Friday night, too, but at this point I can't even remember it unfortunately, but I remember Saturday and Sunday nights' dreams as clear as day.

Saturday night started off with me being in this really weird school (another school dream, big shocker) that was like a combination my high school and my middle school. I remember something about having lost my backpack so I was running around searching for it everywhere, which proved to be way harder than expected considering my backpack is custom painted. Turns out I wasn't the only one with a painted backpack, though, as I remember running into oe person, a girl I actually went to high school with, who had the exact same backpack. I did end up finding my backpack, though, in some weird room in what I can only assume was the engineering building of the school just by the design of the interior itself. The scene then transformed from the school to this massive mansion that was perhaps the most beautiful thing I've ever seen in a dream before. Downstairs, there was a candy shop with assorted candy apples and gummy candies and the entire place was dark wood with nice ambient lighting. It kind of reminded me of the bakeries in Seaworld and the Norway pavilion at Epcot. The rest of the place, however, was fucking stunning. Everything was white marble and regal and elegant. It was like being in Cair Paravel itself. I distinctly remember, just before waking up, a scene where I was walking up this winding marble staircase in a flowing pink dress (or at least a pink skirt, I couldn't see the top portion though now I'm getting the feeling that maybe it was a dress? I recognized the skirt as this pink chiffon maxi skirt that I do, in fact, own in real life but then the more I think about it, the more I remember the top looking the bodice of this dress http://little-angel-secret.com/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=730&search=disneybound). But anyways, I remember walking up this winding marble staircase with that skirt and a pair of heels on (which I felt but couldn't see) and there were all the long tree branches with pink flowers hanging over top of the staircase so low that I had to either duck beneath them or part them to get past. And then when I reached the top of the staircase, I hesitated but dared to look up to the ceiling to find the most beautiful crystal chandelier hanging from it. And that's about the time that I woke up.

Unfortunately last night's dreams weren't nearly as beautiful as they were bizarre and discomforting. The first half had me and my boyfriend in a kitchen almost exactly like my parents' except the coloring was different, specifically the cabinets. These were white and plain and kind of cheap compared to my parent's medium toned wood ones. The lighting was pretty shitty, too, like someone stuck an incandescent bulb from the 80's into the socket. But so my boyfriend and I were standing in this kitchen and we were meant to do something but then I don't know how she got there but my boyfriend's dead ex showed up and was standing at the counter doing something, but she kept sneaking sideways glances at us as if she was offended. And I don't know why but I remember her wearing a white hoodie and her hair was dyed a reddish light brown, straightened, a little past her shoulders, with her thick side bangs across her forehead like how I've seen in certain pictures. I remember feeling really competitive with her and frustrated that she was there, afraid my boyfriend was going to dump me for her. She kept shooting me near-offended sideways glances meanwhile I kept glaring back at her, mostly when she wasn't looking, and before this segment of the dream ended I remember standing up on tiptoes and wrapping my arms around my boyfriend's neck and being all cutesy flirty and bullshit and he wrapped his arms around my waist and seemed completely oblivious to the silent rivalry me and his ex were having and it was just fucking lovely. Guess I'm not as over it as I thought I was or something. Fuck. Anyways, the second half of the dream spared no expense in being bizarre as fuck. I was led to this massive room that kind of reminded me of the music room at my elementary school with high ceilings and white walls and dingy gray carpeting. Along the back wall were these tall rickety shelving units (if you can even call them that) where young men and women were hanging up and storing various costumes. I was apparently there to audition for a spot in Disney's theater group, even though it was like a combination of a theater group and a classroom, and the specifics of "theater group" were never clear. And the woman leading this whole production was none other than my US History teacher from last semester, who did recognize me. The only difference was that this time, she had a haircut. I don't know why I remember this, either, but she was wearing a coral blouse with short sleeves and a scalloped hem. But that's not relevant to anything. So anyways, she basically told me to gather up a costume or something and get changed and then everyone was forced out through these double doors onto a dance-floor-turned-ice-skating-rink in the middle of what I can only assume was some sort of hotel ballroom. There were countless chairs surrounding the entire thing with thousands of people watching. Many of the people on the rink were already seasoned performers and knew exactly what to do, unlike me who was basically floundering. I started panicking because I knew full well that I can't ice skate and I was terrified that was going to cost me my spot on the team. When I brought this up before going "on stage", however, Mrs. US History Teacher said it didn't matter if I couldn't skate or not, what mattered was my acting, that she apparently wanted to see personality despite a low skill level or whatever, so that's what I kept in mind stepping foot out on that rink. The way it went was that people were in full-on makeup and costume, some of which aboard large contraptions like I distinctly remember a Marie-Antoinette style Queen of Hearts type character on a massive chariot being pulled by other performers shouting at people to get out of the way, and the ice skating rink was treated like a cat walk of sorts. Everyone would skate down the length of it in a procession giving it their all and then skate back up the length to the double doors we came through doing the same. Everyone was wildly expressive and even acrobatic meanwhile I skated down that rink trying to be as extroverted as possible but feel I failed in really expressing that. I remember just skating down the rink trying not to lose my balance, being kind of straight-backed and blank expressioned even though I was trying my hardest to really do a good job. When we all got back to the big classroom, Mrs. US History teacher instructed us to change our costumes yet again for another round, this time it was just straight-up dancing, no ice involved. For some reason I remember what I wore this time as opposed to the first time around, and there were other girls wearing the same thing: hot pink high waisted shorts, a white t-shirt with some childish floral design (I'm pretty positive I had that exact same shirt when I was like, six? I think it was from Target) and plain white sneakers. I distinctly remember having a hard time finding the second half of my pair of shoes, like I had one that was the right size and style but every other shoe I grabbed either was too big, too small, or not even the same shoe. I don't remember what happened with that, I think I might've just resorted to grabbing a shoe that was a half size too small. The dancing portion of the audition thing was wild and definitely more overwhelming than the ice skating part, but I also think I certainly did better? I remember dancing down the dance floor with two other girls in the same outfit as me, and then one of them grabbed this table from seemingly out of nowhere and started scooting it all the way across the dance floor behind me, basically forcing me to go with it. It wasn't until we reached the end of the dance floor that I realized she was pushing the table too fast, though, and I had no choice but to somehow backwards jump on top of it. Even when we reached the edge of the dance floor, however, that wasn't stopping this chick. She pushed that table past the audience (who were all staring at the two of us in awe like we were fucking crazy) and all the way to the wall at the back of the room, where I remember she ended up backing it up against a door. I had no idea what to do then so I ended up doing perhaps the most terrifying thing ever: I pressed my back against that door, facing the audience and the dance floor, and started crunking hardcore. I don't even know why. I just...I don't even know why. I forget what really happened after that in regards to the dancing but I do remember that when it was all said and done, we went back into the classroom, putting our costumes back into our shelves/cubbies/whatever (for some reason my teacher gave me the short one at the end of some shoe rack that's far too short to hang anything up on??? Meanwhile everyone else had ones taller than themselves from which they hung a couple mermaid Ariel costumes and even a village Belle) and seating ourselves at these round and rectangular gray tables like the kind you'd find in an elementary school classroom or cafeteria, respectively. I remember sitting at the table with some purple notebook in front of me and the teacher going around and passing back graded papers, which I got mostly 100's on and some really positive marks about "super confident writing" or some shit. I don't know, I remember something written on paper about "super confident" something. As I started trying to file my papers into the folder pocket at the front of my notebook, however, I realized two things: 1) the folder pocket was only half the width of the notebook, meaning I'd have to hot dog fold all my papers in order to fit them in and 2) half of the stack of papers I got back weren't even mine, they belonged to other people. Once I separated mine from the others, I went up to the teacher's desk at the front of the room and told her what was up, asking her to take care of it, but then she seemed offended and almost like she didn't understand what I was telling her as she told me to just hold onto them and not worry about it or something. This caused a minor uproar from the other half of the room which was mainly filled with the owners of the papers I had accidentally received. I remember one girl, specifically, standing up in her seat and protesting that they worked hard on those papers but the teacher didn't really seem to care. It was all so strange and bizarre, and I don't really remember what happened after that except for just placing the papers on the corner of the teacher's desk and heading back to my seat, and then I vaguely remember something about packing my things as class was dismissed and thinking to myself about how it was super late and I'd need to either take the bus home or ask my boyfriend to pick me up if he was off work already or something, and questioning how this would work in the future if he can't leave work to pick me up or something. Or at least I'm pretty sure I remember thinking that, probably because my boyfriend mentioned something about me potentially having to take the bus to campus for orientation in a month. I don't know, either way, it was all really strange, both last night and the night before, and in certain regards I would've much rather preferred to just not have dreamed anything at all.

#ramblings #weird dreams

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newssplashy · 6 years

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WASHINGTON — Some of them met on Instagram. Others coordinated during lunchtime phone conferences. Most of them haven’t even graduated from high school.

The teenagers behind Zero Hour — an environmentally focused, creatively minded and technologically savvy nationwide coalition — are trying to build a youth-led movement to sound the alarm and call for action on climate change and environmental justice.

For the past year, a core group spanning both coasts has been organizing on social media. The teenagers kicked off their campaign with a protest Saturday at the National Mall in Washington, along with sister marches across the country.

As sea levels rise, ice caps melt and erratic weather affects communities across the globe, they say time is running out to address climate change. The core organizing group of about 20 met with almost 40 federal lawmakers about their platforms Thursday, and hope to inspire other teenagers to step up and demand change.

“The march is a launch. It isn’t, ‘That’s it, we’re done,'” said Jamie Margolin, founder of Zero Hour. “It means it doesn’t give them an excuse to be like, ‘I don’t know what the kids want.’ It’s like, ‘Yes, you do.'”

They are trying to prove the adults wrong, to show that people their age are taking heed of what they see as the greatest crisis threatening their generation.

“In our generation when we talk about climate change, they’re like: ‘Ha ha, that’s so funny. It’s not something we’ll have to deal with,'” said Nadia Nazar, Zero Hour’s art director. “'Oh, yeah, the polar bears will just die, the seas will just rise.’ They don’t understand the actual caliber of the destruction.”

The group is building off the momentum of other recent youth-led movements, such as the nationwide March for Our Lives rallies against gun violence.

“No one gives you an organizing guide of how to raise thousands of dollars, how to get people on board, how to mobilize,” Margolin said. “There was no help. It was just me floundering around with Dory-like determination, like, ‘Just keep swimming,'” she said, referring to the Disney movie “Finding Nemo.”

At the Sierra Club’s Washington headquarters Wednesday, as Zero Hour members continued to make preparations, six of the coalition’s leaders and founding members discussed how they became involved with the group, and why they think it’s one of young people’s best shots at creating a healthy, sustainable environment.

— ‘We are on the verge of something amazing’

Jamie Margolin, 16, Seattle

“I’ve always planned my future in ifs,” Margolin said. If climate change hasn’t destroyed this, if the environment hasn’t become that.

So for the last few years, Margolin has worked to raise awareness about climate justice issues. A passionate writer, she went through an “op-ed phase,” submitting essays to publications, like one titled “An Open Letter to Climate Change Deniers” published in the monthly magazine Teen Ink.

Still, Margolin thought she and other young people could — and should — be doing more.

“I had had this idea building up since January, since the Women’s March” last year, Margolin said. “The kind of idea that was nagging me and you try to ignore, but it’s an idea poking you.”

At a Princeton University summer program last year, she met other teenagers interested in taking action on climate change and created Zero Hour. They began to plan a huge protest in the nation’s capital. On social media, Margolin espoused factoids and reached out to other young activists.

A professed climate justice advocate, Margolin has kept the movement inclusive, putting the stories and concerns of those most directly affected by environmental issues at the heart of Zero Hour’s mission. Youths from in and around the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation spoke Saturday, and others repeatedly called attention to those killed during Hurricane Maria and threatened by rising sea levels in the Marshall Islands.

Since starting Zero Hour, Margolin said she had been overwhelmed by the response from people of all ages. Dozens of environmental advocacy groups and nonprofits have approached the coalition, looking to donate to or sponsor it.

“We flipped the scenario as the underdog. We’ve proven ourselves,” she said. “We are on the verge of something amazing. We’re going to change history.”

— Showing a movement’s artistic side

Kallan Benson, 14, Crownsville, Maryland

When Benson was planning a trip to the Peoples Climate March last year with her family, she knew she wanted to make a statement.

Benson doesn’t consider herself an artist. But a 24-foot-wide play parachute that she covered in a gigantic monarch butterfly design and hundreds of signatures from children in her community became a canvas for her to display the dire future she and coming generations may face, and express optimism that they will overcome it.

A chance encounter with the son of the founder of the nonprofit Mother Earth Project led Benson to encourage children around the world to create parachutes of their own made of recycled bedsheets (to be “environmentally conscious,” of course).

Inspired by the AIDS Memorial Quilt that has been unfurled on the National Mall in years past, some of those parachutes, sent from every continent except Antarctica, were laid out on the grass during Saturday’s march.

“The original idea was, ‘We got to get them on the National Mall,’ but then we thought that, ‘Well that shouldn’t be our first exhibit; it’s a little ambitious,'” Benson said.

“Then we talked to Zero Hour and they were like, ‘Hey, why don’t you bring them out?'” she continued. “I never imagined it would get this far.”

— Where business and the environment meet

Madelaine Tew, 15, Teaneck, New Jersey

As Zero Hour’s director of finance, Tew has had to get creative about securing funds and grants.

On the day of a deadline for a major grant — $16,000 from the Common Sense Fund — Tew’s school was hosting an event where seniors gave presentations about their internships. But she knew the grant would be a huge boost for Zero Hour.

“So I went to the nurse and was like: ‘Oh, I have cramps. Can I lie down with my computer?'” she said. “Then I just went in and wrote the whole grant.”

Her stunt paid off. Zero Hour secured the grant, and now Tew’s finance team, made up of students just like her, has raised about $70,000 for the coalition.

Tew, who attends a magnet high school where she takes classes in business and finance, has been involved in clubs to get the school and local businesses to adopt more renewable practices. But before meeting Margolin at the Princeton summer program last year, she thought those local efforts were “as far as you can go” for someone her age.

"It shifted from youth being a limitation to ‘it doesn’t matter,'” Tew said.

Though the practices of big corporations can sometimes anger environmentalists, for Tew, combining “my love for business and my care, my concern for climate” just makes sense.

"In many cases you can see how the environmental movement can be rooted in the way we do business,” she said.

That could take the form of encouraging companies to divest from fossil fuel industries or having local communities build their own solar or wind grids.

“We’re not just talking about building more cooperative farms,” Tew said, but also figuring out how to integrate ethical and sustainable environmental policies into business so “we can continue the American economy’s future.”

— ‘Repping the younger generation’

Iris Fen Gillingham, 18, Livingston Manor, New York

When three floods in the mid- to late 2000s swept through the vegetable farm Gillingham’s family owned in the Catskill Mountains, the topsoil was washed away and their equipment was submerged, eliminating their main source of income.

The floods devastated Gillingham’s family, which has always lived “very consciously with the land and with nature,” she said. Even her name, Iris Fen, like the flower and marshy wetland behind her house, alludes to that attachment.

“I have a pair of mittens that are made out of one of our Icelandic sheep, Rosalie,” Gillingham said. “My brother named her, I remember her being born and I’ve seen her grow up and my mom sheering her and spinning the wool.”

So when landsmen came to explore the possibility of hydraulic fracturing — a technique of oil and gas extraction also known as fracking — in their neighborhood when she was about 10, Gillingham joined her father, an environmental activist, in speaking out at local meetings, often as the youngest in the room.

“It was always myself repping the younger generation,” Gillingham said. “Part of that was my brother and I saying, ‘We don’t want to play on contaminated soil,'” (The Environmental Protection Agency has concluded that fracking can contaminate drinking water in some circumstances.)

But part of it was also knowing firsthand how essential a sustainable lifestyle — growing food at home, conscious spending, building greener homes — will be for her generation.

“We’re setting aside our differences and we are building a family and a community using our skills and our creativity,” Gillingham said of the movement. “We’re having fun, we’re laughing with each other, but we’re also talking about some pretty serious issues and injustices happening in this country.”

— Linking animal rights and environmentalism

Nadia Nazar, 16, Baltimore

Before joining Zero Hour, Nazar considered herself mostly an animal-rights activist. When she was 12, she saw a PETA video on slaughterhouses and immediately became a vegetarian.

“I had just gotten a cat,” Nazar said. “What if my cat was that cow?”

She got her start as an activist by trying to persuade people in her neighborhood not to go to SeaWorld, which has been criticized over its treatment of animals. (“I was slightly successful in that.”)

Then she dug deeper into the root causes of animal suffering and death.

“I found out how so many species are endangered by climate change, and how many are dying and going towards extinction that we caused ourselves,” Nazar said.

During a class, she stumbled upon Margolin’s Teen Ink essay and followed her on Instagram. And a little over a year ago, when Nazar saw a post by Margolin calling for action, she knew it was her chance to put her artistic skills to use. As art director, she helped organize a smaller art festival on Friday, and created the majority of the graphic elements for the coalition.

“Her story said: ‘I’m going to do it. Who wants to join me?” Nazar said. She immediately messaged Margolin. She was in.

— Working together toward a bigger goal

Zanagee Artis, 18, Clinton, Connecticut

Artis’ journey as an environmentalist began in the same place many other budding activists get their start — in a high school club.

During his junior year, he had big ambitions for his school: the building facilities department would finally start recycling white paper, students would start composting their food waste and the lunchroom would be free of plastic foam trays.

“I’m going to accomplish all these things and I’m going to go to the administration and tell them, ‘Stuff needs to change,'” Artis said.

But, he said, “nothing ever happened.” Artis said the problem was clear: Without engaging other students who might be interested, change was unlikely to happen.

So he started a sustainability committee within the school’s National Honor Society, and the results spoke for themselves. The group was able to buy the school an aquaponic system — a tank-based farming system that combines hydroponics (water-based planting) and aquaculture (fish cultivation) — and raise $700 to install water bottle refilling stations.

"So we accomplished all these things because we worked together as a community, and that’s how I feel about the climate movement,” he said.

Still, Artis said he “really didn’t think I could do much” beyond his local community until he met Margolin and Tew last summer at Princeton. Inspired by Margolin’s enthusiasm to do “a big, big thing,” Artis became Zero Hour’s logistics director, in charge of submitting permits for Saturday’s march, estimating attendance numbers, checking for counterprotests and helping sister marches with logistical issues.

“I was like, ‘Yes!'” he said with a satisfying clap. “'Let’s do it.'”

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

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