#yes i went to school in the US and memorized all the states and capitals in 5th grade | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

pure-kirarin · 3 years

Text

Studying at night - Koby x f!reader (College AU)

A/N : Thanks a lot dear. I am a sucker for my pink boy, so, here is a scenario about studying with him. It came out like the first part of a series, so I might write the rest later. It was so fun and well...Please imagine it being set in La Sorbonne or something. I imagined the actions taking place there. +w+ Ok. Enough chatter.

« - Who have you been assigned to work with, (Y/N) ? »

«-Hmm...Let's see » you check the little paper that you have picked « the name is Koby...I don't know who it is. »

« -Koby ?! Forreal ?? Whaa, I envy you » She taps your shoulder gently while assembling her books. « He scored first for the last two years on every single test. He is like...very hardworking. And a bit nerdy if you see what I mean » She says as she mimics big glasses on her face. « He will probably do all the project, don't bother ! »

-What do you mean ? You're offending me, Nami-chan ! I won't let him do all the work...And you,w ho have you been assigned to ?

She pauses for a little while pinching the bridge of her nose, visibly annoyed then says ; « Zoro. If I let him do anything I think that I will fail this class. Guess I'll do all the work she shrugs but I will make him pay for lunch for a week in return.

-Sounds like a nice deal. You smile and put your books in your handbag.

-Well...I have to leave for now. I have a lecture starting in five minutes...Oh...Look there ! -She points out to a pink haired guy on one of the middle rows putting his books in his bag- that's your man, you might want to catch up with him to discuss the project. Anyways, I'm leaving now.

-See you later. I'll come back later tonight so don't wait for me for dinner.

-Alright ! See ya !

Nami and you shared the same room at the dorm, however, because of your work you always came back late. You didn't have a choice, the cost of life was really high in the capital and you didn't want to be a burden to your parents. You sighed and walked towards the guy. You had some lectures in commun, his face was familiar. You have always assumed that he were younger because of his childish features. The pink hair gave him a soft look, it reminded you of cotton candy.

You waved to him and said after clearing you throat ;

-Yo' ! I'm (Y/N). I guess that we are doing the project work together ? You point to the piece of paper on the wooden table.

-O-oh, hi. He looks at the paper and reads, (Y/N/L/N). Yes ! We are doing the project together then. Nice to meet you. I am Koby. He bows a little bit while presenting himself.

-Cool. I don't have a class right now. We could go grab a coffee in the cafeteria and discuss the project if that's okay with you.

-Ah ? Of course ! That's fine with me. I guess I have some time. He says while looking at his wrist watch.

-Nice. Let's go.

You give him a wide smile. He looked a little bit uncomfortable. The shy type for sure. You were somehow comfortable and looked at him from head to toe. Cute style ; he was wearing a green bandana on his forehead, casual pale blue blaser above a white shirt and a pair of jeans. He looked well put together, a little bit boring ; nerdy type for sure. He took a pair of huge glasses off his face and put them in a case before following you to the cafeteria.

You were now sitting in front of each other in the cafeteria. You smiled noticing how he just ordered a hot chocolate while you loved your tea black and bitter. He was looking at you, then, when you rested your eyes on him he just looked away. He seemed like an easily flustered person. You wondered if he will manage in the presentation. The project you were working on was due to be presented in front of everyone. It was about didactics.

-So, you're also a second year ?

-Y-yes.

-We don't have a lot of lectures in commun. In what major are you ?

-History. I take this lecture as an extra. Didactics sounded fun.

-Oh. You take a sip from your coffee. That's nice. You wanna become a teacher ?

-Not really. I would like to become a heritage curator.

-Whaa, really ? Sounds cool. And...very specific.

-I guess so...That is not something a lot of people would like to do. He says, smiling and scratching his neck. He seemed nervous.

-You're so tense. You should relax a bit. We are the same age after all. Anyways, about this project. You take your agenda out of your bag and open in it front of Koby. Oh jeez. I am really busy with m part-time job most days. So I am only free on nights...The library stays open all night, I don't know if it's okay with you to work at night. I don't want to impose my schedule on you.

He waves a hand infront of his face, assuring you that it's fine with him ;

-It's okay ! I live in the dorm anyways so I am free whenever you are. I don't want to interfere with your working hours.

-Alright so let's say thursday at 10 PM ?

-That's alright.

-It's settled then. I am looking forward to working with you, Koby ! You make a bright smile and he gasps a bit, taken aback by your chill demeanour. Oh I forgot. Can I have your number ?

He looked startled for a while.

-For the project. You assured.

-Oh yes sure !

You offer him your phone and he types his number. You wave to him ;

-Thanks ! I'll message you later. It was nice meeting you, Koby. »

You don't wait for his answear and head to the dorm to get prepared for your job.

(Y/N) sent a message : Hey Koby, you always down to study at 10 PM tonight ???

Koby👓 sent a message : Yes sure ! I'll book a study room in the library if that's fine with you.

(Y/N) sent a message : Sure, see you later !;)

At nine a half you were getting your books and study material ready to go join the cotton candy man. You didn't bother to take off your make up and put on a big coat over your body. You just took off your red lipstick with a babywipe and headed to the library. The place was calm and almost empty. It was rustic, it had a XIXth century style, well, like your whole university that was renovated around that time. It had a classical style that was charming and added a cozy ambience.

Koby 👓 sent a message : I am already in study room number 3. I am sorry I didn't notify you earlier.

This guy was too polite, you thought. You had a little smile then went to the study room. He jumped a bit in his seat when the door opened and that made you chuckle. He was easily startled.

-Hi Koby, I hope that I'm not messing with your sleeping schedule.

Despite the late hour, he seemed wide awake. He said as you sit next to him, putting your laptop on the table.

-O-Oh...No. It's totally fine. I hope that I am the one not interfering with your job.

When his eyes layed on you, he couldn't restrain the surprise that was now mirrored in them. Surely because you were wearing heavy make up ; smokey eyes and glitter that was stuck to your face and your hair. It was different from your usual naked-face look. He couldn't help but wonder for what reason where you wearing so much make up, and what you were hiding under your long coat. But he coughed loudly, trying to focus again ; the project.

-Thanks. I really appreciate how flexible you are around my hours. I owe you one ! I think that no one else would've accepted to work with me this late haha...Well, I wouldn't have minded doing the project on my own. You shrug.

-Really ?...Well...Actually, me neither. I am not too good at project working...And studying with others... He looks down with a smile.

-Oh wow, I wouldn't have guessed. You look like you are good at cooperating. Anyways, I am sure that we will kick ass !

The way you talked and how confident you were were two things that the pinkette appreciated about your personnality. You seemed like an easy going person, he didn't feel much pressure to work with you. You open your laptop and start laying some ideas, meanwhile, he takes out a notebook and a pencil case ; Oh, old-school, I see, you think to yourself.

His notes were very organized and clean. He seemed to have memorized everything the professor has said about the project and had a clear plan. However, he asked you for your opinion for everything and couldn't help but ask « are you alright with this part ? » for every idea he suggested. It was a bit annoying, but also a bit cute.

When he was studying, he was different. He had a bit more confidence and didn't hesitate to correct you when something you said seemed out of the topic or a bit repetitive. You appreciate this about him ; yes, no wonder he scored first for the two last years.

You worked for around two hours before you noticed that his eyes started looking tired. He wasn't used to studying this late, yet he did his best to come study with you at this time. You felt bad for keeping him awake.

-Koby-san ? Your soft voice snatched him out of his half-sleeping state.

-Ohh ! Sorry I just--

-You should probably go to sleep. I am sorry I gave you such a hard time. You must have classes tomorrow morning...You said with a sorry voice.

-No no, it's totally fine. I am sorry I just...well...

-No need to be sorry. Well, it's past midnight now. We should probably get going and continue tomorrow or some other day.

-Are you sure ?

-Yeah. I'm not going to keep you more. You look really tired. You shouldn't overwork yourself, Koby-san...Well...Even if technically it's my fault. You giggled a bit.

You started putting your stuff in your bag and he did the same, appreciating your presence. You had a soft aura that was really calming. He has never studied this late before, but he liked the atmosphere. It felt so dreamy.

As you were both going out of the room, you noticed a little cat keychain on the ground. You bowed down to take it in your hand. It was a cute kitty wearing a strawhat. You looked at Koby with a frown and said

-I think that you dropped this ?

You couldn't help but smile when you saw his embarrassed face. Yeah. It definitely looked like something he would have. He took it off your hand pretty fast and stuttered ;

-Oh thanks ! It's...Well...It's like a lucky charm haha.

-No need to justify yourself. I think that it fits your personnality pretty well.

-Huh ? He just said not understanding what you meant.

-It's pretty cute !

You were making it even harder for him not to blush and you were having too much fun looking at him struggle. It was wrong, but it just was too much fun.

-Oh. It was a compliment by the way.

You wink at him before going out of the study room. He follows you, destabilized. Your confident and assertive behavior was really foreign to him. You really made him interested in learning more about you.

Studying with you was calming, sharing that moment at night in the almost empty library, having you in full make up at such a late hour, as if you were going to a date. He blushed at that thought and felt bad for thinking that. You were there to study and you were strangers, well, university mates. He wasn't allowed to have such a thought.

You were fascinating in more than one way and you really made him curious to learn more about you. You seemed like the type of girls to hide secrets behind her immaculate day-look. He was a bit impatient to learn more. But why ? You were only working for a university project after all, and once it was done, he won't have the opportunity to spend more time with you, and that somehow made his chest tighten.

#one piece imagines #one piece #college au #koby x reader #Koby #nami #one piece nami #one piece x reader

90 notes · View notes

ceruleanmusings · 4 years

Text

talk nerdy to me - melisaac

Tag: @princessofdarkness12 @thegoodmogadorian @foxesandmagic @mystic-scripture @lareiism @witchofinterest @ocfairygodmother @zadien

----

For once, Melanie wished that some supernatural emergency would rear its ugly head if only so she wouldn’t have to be tortured anymore. Beacon Hills had been quiet lately, a little too quiet. And it was beginning to creep her out. It’s Beacon Hills; something happened every day! People went missing. Mountain lion attacks. Strange and unexplained occurrences. But it seemed that when the year started anew, all the mystery of the town went with it and they were given the reprieve of being normal teenagers again.

Normal teenagers with homework.

“Okay, I can’t do this anymore,” she said, closing her textbook with a snap. She tossed it aside, watching as it bounced on the dark green flannel blanket laying across the duvet. Rubbing her tired, burning eyes she continued, “Why does it matter what the capital of Slovakia is? When am I ever going to need to know that?”

“Bratislava.”

Melanie’s eyes swung across the room to where Isaac sat in the desk chair, hunched over his laptop. His long fingers flicked a pen between them; the red blur resembled a pinwheel. The laptop put an eerie blue glow on his face. “What?”

“Bratislava.” Isaac glanced at her over his shoulder. She pressed her lips together to keep from smiling at the sight of his new reading glasses perched on his nose. He hated them. She found them adorable. “That’s the capital of Slovakia.”

“Lucky guess,” she said.

“It’s not a guess. That’s what it is.”

Her eyebrow lifted. She’d suspect that he was fucking with her, but he didn’t do that. He was one of the few that didn’t brush her off, didn’t handle her like a nuisance, didn’t deal with her. And she appreciated it. Boy, did she appreciate it.

“Oh yeah?” Sending a challenging look his way, she reached for her history book and flipped through the pages. “Okay, let’s see….ah!” She slapped her finger down on a page. “What’s the capital of…Albania?”

“Tirana,” he replied right away. She squinted. He smiled and turned back to the computer, resuming his pen wiggling as he looked over something. She suspected it was their English homework. English wasn’t one of his best classes. But that was okay because it was one of hers. That’s part of the reason she was there.

Melanie flipped through the book again. “Zimbabwe?”

“Uh…Harare.” He clicked around on the computer and then closed the lid when the screen blackened. He spun around in his chair, giving her his full attention. She nestled against the pillows on the headboard. A puff of Isaac-scented air ballooned around her—Irish Spring soap, wet earth, and whatever shampoo Melissa bought for him and Scott. She discreetly took a deep breath, holding it in for a couple seconds. “At least give me a tough one.”

“Bucharest.”

He chuckled, leaning back in the swivel chair. He laced his fingers and rested them against his neck. Behind his frames, his blue eyes sparkled. “Bucharest is the capital. It’s the capital of Romania.”

Was it? A blush appeared on her cheeks as she flipped through the book. Coming upon the page, her eyes scanned it and then she frowned. It was. She cleared her throat. “Well, well…lucky guess! I was just testing you!” she declared.

“Were you?” he asked. An eyebrow quirked and he smiled that half smile that never failed to make her stomach twist in the best way.

“Yeah! Just to see if you were paying attention.”

“I’m not the one who needs to study for history, remember?”

She stuck her tongue out at him. He rolled his eyes. “Don’t change the subject, Lahey! This is about you, not me!” Melanie said. “Okay, one more. How about…Kye…erg…what?” She brought the book closer to her face, squinting at the typed word as she silently sounded it out in her head. “Kee…erg…istan.”

“Ah…” Isaac’s eyes crinkled, nose wrinkling as he thought. Every muscle in her body strained to keep from making a sound at the sight. It should be against the law of boys to be so obliviously cute. “That is…Bishkek.”

“Bless you.”

Isaac chuckled and shook his head. “Very funny.”

“Thought so.” Melanie closed the book again. She rested it on her lifted knees and drummed her fingers against the cover. “How do you know all these?”

“My father…he, ah, he made me memorize them all.” Isaac’s smile slowly faded, and he pressed his lips together, untangling himself to switch positions, resembling the state The Thinker. He rubbed his hand over his stubble covered mouth—a new development that cropped up sometime in late December—the scratching sound amplified in the quiet room. “Thought that if I had enough time to read comics, I had enough time to study.”

She winced. “Sorry for bringing it up.” Mr. Lahey was an off-limits subject, only brought up and discussed by Isaac when he supplied the information.

“No, it’s okay. You didn’t know.” He put a smile back on his face; she noted that it didn’t completely reach his eyes. “It’s my party trick. …If only I were invited to parties for it to be useful.” He scoffed. “Or liked them.”

“Hey, the room doesn’t have to be full to be a party!” Melanie stated, putting the book aside. Her eyes caught a picture on his bedside table, of himself and Scott and Melissa on the front steps of the McCall home. Turning back to him she added with a grin, “It can be a party with just you and me!”

He squinted, drumming his fingers against his mouth. “So, you asking me to help you study for history was just a cover.”

She shrugged. “Not when it’s true. My history grades suck. I just so happen to bring a party with me wherever I go, lucky for you.” Smile dropping, Melanie pinned him with a serious look. “Bahrain?”

“Manama,” he replied almost instantly.

She wiggled her eyebrows. “Oh yeah, talk nerdy to me.”

He rolled his eyes; she didn’t miss the quirk to the corners of his lips. He removed his reading glasses and rubbed at his eyes, shifting from left to right in the swivel chair. Even with it raised all the way his long legs aided in his feet still touching the ground. “You’re a dork.”

Sliding off the bed, she closed the space between them and wrapped her arms around his neck. Placing a kiss to his cheek, she slid her lips back until they touched the shell of his ear, “You’re saying that like you don’t know this about me already.” She smirked at the widening of his eyes and the red flush that appeared on his cheeks. Running her fingers through his hair she asked casually, “What else don’t I know about you?”

Humming, he laced his fingers against the small of her back, rubbing his thumbs against her spine. “Uhhh...I speak Italian.”

She stopped attempting to braid his hair and stared at him. “No you don’t.”

“Yeah I do. Same thing with studying the capitals, Dad thought French was too easy.” He briefly let go of her to make finger quotes and then replaced his hands. “He made me take lessons after school.”

“Wait, shit, you’re not joking!” She studied his face, searching for his tell—he had a problem with lying an eye contact—but his ocean blue eyes stared back at her, sweeping her away. “Say something!”

He blinked, sucked in a breath, and said, “Sei molto esigente per qualcuno che ha bisogno di aiuto per mantenere alti i propri voti.”

A pout came to her lips. “That wasn’t nice, was it?”

Leaning forward, he brushed his nose against hers and a sly smile spread across his lips. “Wouldn’t you like to know?” he murmured and captured her lips in a kiss. Her words of protest died on her tongue and was replaced with an appreciative groan as he pulled her onto his lap.

Yes, she would actually but she could ask him about it later.

Much later.

#melisaac #otp: the song and the howl #isaac x melanie #isaac lahey #melanie crowe #the translation according to google translate is: You're very demanding for someone who needs help keeping their grades up #i mean i'm the one who put the sentence in english in but it's hit or miss whether that translated correctly #this is a bit of an alternate ending to an opening of a fic i'm writing #and yes daniel knows italian and he knows all the capitals of the world #the dude's a dork and he's after my heart i swear #my writings #teen wolf oc

20 notes · View notes

lovemesomesurveys · 4 years

Text

What is your least favourite thing about your full name? Nothing.

How good is your grammar? I think it’s pretty good overall. Admittedly, I’m not as good of a writer as I used to be.

Do you like the age you are? D: My 30s are going to go fast I know it and I’m afraid I’m going to just waste them all. The last few years of my 20s were wasted.

Music. It’s amazing. Do you agree? It’s great, but I’m not as attached to music as most people are. It’s hard for me to get into new acts and I mostly stick to the artists and albums I’ve listened for years. Music can also sometimes be too emotional for me, so most of the time I prefer flocking to content that will entertain me when I’m sad, like sitcoms or YouTube videos. <<< I relate to the first part of this. I enjoy music don’t get me wrong, but I don’t feel that attachment either. I don’t have to listen to it all the time, everyday. I used to be that way; though, and feel that attachment. I don’t get hyped about new music like I used to either. I miss that.

What’s your favourite kind of poptart? Frosted strawberry and frosted brown cinnamon sugar.

Do you like sunglasses? I never wear ‘em as someone who has to wear glasses full-time. I could get prescription sunglasses, but meh I just never felt a need for sunglasses. I have had transitional lenses, but adding that gets expensive.

Do you think dreams can give us insight to things? I think it can bring attention to some things and make you maybe think about something, especially if you’re having reoccurring dreams and themes.

Have any cheesy kids songs memorized? Many nursery rhymes and songs from like Barney and stuff. I was recently reminded of a Halloween kid song called Ghost of John that brought me back to elementary school music class days. “Have you heard of the ghost of John? Long, white bones with the rest all goneeeee. Ooooooh. Wouldn’t it be chilly with no skin on?” lol. Anyone else remember that? Just me?

Besides your computer, what else is cluttering your desk? I don’t have a desk. Well, my bed basically serves as my desk as well because it’s where I keep my laptop, my Bible study book and notebook with a pencil case, a coloring book, and two packs of colored pencils and it’s where I do/use those things instead of at a desk.

Why is your worst enemy your worst? I don’t have any enemies.

What does your dad do? He works at a car repair shop.

How late do you usually stay up? Usually 7 or 8AM, sometimes 9 :X I don’t know my sleep schedule has gotten so bad. This is definitely the worst it has ever been.

The political spectrum. Where do you fall? Not getting into that.

Do those commercials from the ASPCA make you cry? Yes D;

When was the last time you visited a nail salon? Years ago when I went with my mom while she got her nails done. What was the last thing you used sliced bread to make? A sandwich. I haven’t had a sandwich in awhile, though.

If you had to eat one type (Chinese, etc.) of food which would it be? Right now? I don’t want anything right now, but I could maybe go for some Mexican food later.

Enough about food. Have you used Wikipedia for a school report? I’ve used it more to easily read up on a subject and then use it as a reference point. It gave me ideas, but I didn’t use it as a source.

What is your favourite glass to drink from? I don’t have one.

When did your family immigrate to wherever you live now? My parents and their parents were all born in the US. My maternal great grandfather (my grandma’s dad) was born in the Philippines. I’m not sure about the rest.

What does your room look like when you sleep? I turn my main light off, but I sleep with my TV on for some light and sound.

What tabs are open on your computer? Two Tumblr tabs, Pinterest, two LiveJournal tabs, Google, and YouTube.

Are your fingers long, or short? Long.

Reality TV: Love it, or hate it? I like a few reality TV shows. What time is it in the country you get the most of your heritage from? Uhhh there’s not one time for the whole country cause of time zones. In my state, it’s 4:57AM.

Do you use a top sheet? There’s on my bed, but no I don’t use it. My bed stays made/tucked in I just sleep and sit on top and use a throw blanket that I keep to the side if needed.

How often do you engage in illegal behaviour? I play it pretty safe for the most part.

Who is your favourite comedian? I don’t have one.

Do people say you have an accent? I was asked about this in the previous survey I just did and gave a detailed answer about California and accents that I don’t feel like repeating here, but no, no one has said I have an accent. We all have one, though. Mine just isn’t distinctive.

Could you tell me what the capital of Bosnia is without looking it up? Nope.

AOL: Do you use it? Wow, is AOL still around? I haven’t used it since the early 2000s. I haven’t even heard anything about it in quite a long time.

Do you find Family Guy’s cutaway scenes funny, or annoying? They usually get annoying and go on too long. I don’t watch a lot of Family Guy, but just from what I’ve seen it’s a bit much.

What colours are on your current shirt? Black and gray.

How many children do you want/have? Zero.

Would you rather live in this decade, the 1960’s, or the 1910’s? This decade.

Pepsi vs. Coke? Coke.

Do you think you look good with a hat on? I don’t know about that, but I do like wearing them. Beanies, especially.

#personal #text #survey #surveys

2 notes · View notes

purplesurveys · 5 years

Text

482

How many...

How many times have you skipped class? Too many. I only started doing it in college but since then I’ve done it a lot. The class I skipped the most would probably be chemistry or psychology lmao. How many times have you kissed the last person you kissed? I’ve been with her for technically five years so that number’s going to be huge. How many years have you known your second closest friend? I’ve been familiar with her for 17 years, but I’ve been friends with her for only seven. How many alarm clocks are in the house? Technically, four. All our phones have alarms but we don’t have actual alarm clocks. How many people have you argued with? Your questions ask stuff that are very difficult to count lmao. I can be a bit of a war freak so I’m guessing the number’s also risen to be a lot.

How many times have you watched your favortie movie? Probably in the 80s-100s range. There was a time I watched Two for the Road every day for several months, and I still watch it several times a year. How many people do you live with? I live with my family. With my dad working abroad, sometimes I’ll live with four people but most times I live with three. How many pairs of boots do you own? None. It’s too hot to wear boots. How many people have told you they're in love with you? Just one. How many times have you cried over the opposite sex? Maybe twice, and not because of romantic reasons. The first was because my grandfather died; the second time was when my dad dropped the bomb on me that he wouldn’t be able to watch my high school graduation. How many people have been in your house at one time? .......Huh? How many stuffed animals are in your room? None. I was never a fan. How many cellphones have you went through? Eight. How many pets do you have? I have a dog, but I’ve had several other pets in the past.

What would you do if...

What would you do if you could never listen to music again? I think I’ll be alright for the most part since I don’t rely on music as much as others do, but I’ll definitely grow restless at some point, especially if I have to drive in silence. What would you do if your current bf/gf cheated on you? I’d imagine wanting a few days or weeks to myself to think about what was just done to me and using that time to take care of myself and see my other friends. I don’t actually know what to do following that; I just never entertain that thought so I never think of it lmao. What would you do if you could never wear jeans again? Be so fucking stoked. I hate jeans. What would you do if your dad became president? Teach him about key political and social issues...and maybe be glad that he doesn’t have to work abroad now. What would you do if you lost your most important possesion? That would be my dog. I would be broken; I’ve never lost a dog before. What would you do if your house burned down? Grab my dog, put my phone and laptop in a bag, and jump off my room’s window. What would you do if your best friend didn't want to be friends anymore? I’d be really confused and hurt. I would probably talk to Hans to get to the bottom of it. What would you do if you had to move to a different state/province? Asked to be left behind. I’m not gonna have my relationship that I’ve worked so hard on adjust to my family’s (very) delayed migration-ish plans if this happens. What would you do if someone shaved your head? Hope I get paid for it, lmao. What would you do if Jesus came to your front door? I work with a Jesus. I’d invite him in, get him a light snack, and ask him why he visited. I don’t recognize any other Jesuses. What would you do if your house was robbed? Scream at the top of my lungs. What would you do if your sister/brother got married? Well first I’d be envious that they went first, but I’d otherwise be excited that I get to go to a party hahaha What would you do if dogs became extinct? Hate humanity forever. What would you do if the last person you kissed proposed to you? Think she’s insane, and I’ll have to turn it down. I’m sure she doesn’t want it this early too.

Have you ever...

Have you ever broke a body part? I’ve sprained an ankle, but other than that no. Have you ever broke someone else's body part? Oh gosh that’s terrible. I don’t think so. Have you ever changed for a guy/girl? Only if I knew it was for my betterment to change. Tried to jump on a celebrity but been stopped by the security guards? Uh no, but a little close. I was exiting a mall at the same time Greyson Chance walked in, and my system just shut down and did the first thing it thought of: get my phone out and start taking photos. He was like, 2 feet away at this point so his bodyguards kinda told me to get out of the way, which I deserved. To this day I still don’t understand why I did something as stupidly fangirly as that, and I can’t even name one of his songs. Have you ever complained about the last person you spoke to? Never. Kate’s my homie. Have you ever cried on your mom's shoulder? No. We’re not close like that, and it’s more than likely that she’d just tell me to pray if I ever decide to confide in her. Have you ever dialed 911 as a prank? I haven’t. Have you ever won a talent show? No. I’ve won a quiz bee though, haha. Have you ever spilled a drink on a expensive electronic item and ruined it? No. I didn’t spill a drink, but I did let my old iPhone 5S be soaked when I was walking under the rain once without an umbrella. I just kinda thought my phone would be durable enough to resist the raindrops, but that was the start of the end for it. Have you ever fainted when someone told you shocking news? No. I’ve only fainted from hunger + heat. Have you ever swooned over the Jonas Brothers? Yes, when I was 10. Have you ever bought a piece of makeup that cost over $100? No and I don’t think I would ever do that. Have you ever been cheated on by someone who claimed to love you? I’ve never been cheated on. Have you ever got food free because the waiter thought you were hot? No.

Do you...

Do you have someone who will always be there for you? I’d like to think so. My best friends are my ride or dies. My Daydrinkers group (that’s what we call ourselves because we used to go to this local bar in the early afternoon) are also trustworthy. Do you have a membership at a gym? Nah, I’m too lazy to go to the gym. Do you act dumb to get guys/girls to like you? No...does that still even work these days? Do you know anyone who smokes a pack of cigarettes a day? No. And if I did I would stay away from them. Do you follow the rules? Most of the time. I don’t enjoy getting reprimanded :/ Do you have a friend who secretly really annoys you? No. I wouldn’t count them as a friend if they did annoy me. Do you always have Pepsi at your house? Nope. Only our parents drink softdrinks and they’re not always at home, so we seldom have soda around the house. Do you flirt with anything that moves? ??? No ??? Do you watch SpongeBob? Still do, yep. I just watched it yesterday. The comedy of the older episodes is timeless. Do you count sheep when you can't sleep? No. I tried to do that as a kid since it’s what I saw in cartoons and in a Mr. Bean episode but it never worked. Do you sweat easily? No. I sweat slower than most people. Do you like pineapple? I hate it. Do you refuse to wear something that's out of style? Typically, yes. Do you type 'u' or 'you'? Depends. I’ll type depending on who I’m talking to and my mood.

What is...

What is your best friend's name?Gabie. Or Angela. I have two best friends.What is your first girlfriend/boyfriend's name?Gabie.What is your neighbour's name?I never talk to the neighbors and have no idea who any of them are.What is your least favorite swear word?Cunt.What is the best and most romantic way to propose to someone?I don’t think there’s a singular best way to propose. That differs for everyone.What is something that always makes you laugh?FRIENDSWhat is the name of your hometown?Sampaloc, Manila.What is the most gentle way to turn someone down?I guess just be straightforward about it? I wouldn’t like to be put under mind games or mixed signals if I was the one being turned down.What is the ugliest girl name?I don’t think there’s an ugly girl name, just ones I’m not fond of. I don’t really like old-fashioned ones like Barbara, Linda, and Gertrude.What is the most boring thing to do?Waiting.What is the funnest kind of question to answer?If you’re talking about surveys, questions about my day or my experiences are always nice to answer.What is the most useless thing you know?I wouldn’t call it useless but I can recognize flags and the capital cities of a number of countries. I collected Kids’ Almanacs every year growing up and they always had a section on geography so that’s why I got to memorize those trivia.What is your favorite pair of pants?My white Mango ones, because they’re super stylish and can be casual or smart casual depending on what I pair it with.What is the best flavour of ice cream?Cookies and cream is my favorite flavor.

#survey #surveys

3 notes · View notes

daysswithyou · 6 years

Text

With love,

Characters: DAY6 Jae x OC

Genre: fluff, slice of life, romance

Words: 2.6k

Description: penpal!jae – when the flame of love rekindles

---

"From: Jae."

You raised a single eyebrow at the letter, surprised that this even appeared in your mailbox. You definitely weren't expecting him to write to you so soon, if not at all. But you couldn't deny that a small part of you was excited to see what he had written - he was a rather funny character. Tearing the slit open, you were greeted by a whole bunch of capital letters and haphazard punctuation - he clearly wrote this in a rather unclear (and possibly drunk) state of mind. You tried your best to decipher his scrawly handwriting (which was rather hard in all honesty) but by the end of the letter, you were laughing to yourself, the little drawing of Chicken Little at the end as he signed off tickling your funny bone. You immediately flashed back to how you met Jae on a school exchange program, the first moment you met him already proving to be rather diabolical.

"Y/N your partner is..."

The teacher scanned the classroom for a certain someone before heaving a deep sigh.

"Jae, who's late."

Right at the moment, the door burst open, revealing a geeky boy with a sharp mohawk hairstyle and brown glasses hanging skewed off the bridge of his nose.

"Jae, you are exceptionally early today." The teacher's voice dripped with sarcasm before fixing an admonishing look upon his student. But the cheeky youth was clearly unfazed by the scolding (or the attention) and instead merely shoot his teacher a wide grin before defending himself.

"Sorry Mr Franklin I had to take time to look extra good today for the exchange students." He then winked at his teacher whom simply turned back to address the class; it was quite obvious that he was rather used to such situations from the boy. Jae then turned to you, finally aware of your presence.

"Hi are you my partner?"

"Yes."

"Hi my name is Jae. Sorry for being late, I actually overslept."

"It's alright, my name is Y/N."

"Yea I know."

You found out later from him that he had chosen you as his partner because of your interesting name, which he had described as 'pretty like you', causing you to turn into a tongue-tied mess. He didn't say that to flirt, he had meant that a geninue comment.

For the rest of the day, Jae led the pack, a natural orator that had managed to captivate all the students as he went on raptly about your school. You spent the next five days getting to know Jae very well, especially during lunch break where he led you away from the crazy lunch crowd towards the band room where both of you talked endlessly about everything ranging from America's history to embarrassing childhood stories. Time flew fast when you were having fun and before you knew it Jae was sending you off at the airport. You had just said goodbye to him and had just only turned towards the transit area when he called you again.

"Y/N wait! Could you...give me your address? I'll like be...erm...penpals ya know?"

He then passed you a marker but no paper.

"Jae do you have paper now?"

"No?"

"Give me your hand."

He stuck out his arm and you quickly wrote your address on his palm.

"I'll write back. Bye Jae!"

You then took off past the gates but little did you know that Jae's skin was still tingling from your touch.

You kept your promise and continuously wrote back and forth to him, both of you sharing your troubles and successes with one another. But the most memorable one had to be the one with the ring, the one where he suggested flying to meet you.

"Since you've been to California before, I thought I'd use the summer break to visit you in New York. The ring is for us to identify one another just in case our looks have changed too much since the last time we met HAHA. Let me know what you think about it?"

Of course you were ecstatic. You couldn't wait to see Jae again and you drove out to mail your letter even though it was 12am at night.

But a letter never came back.

You tried writing many more letters to him but you never got one back. It was as if he had dropped off the face of the earth. After a year, you simply stopped hoping for a reply and soon Jae slowly faded to the back of your memory as you got busy with being an adult.

But somehow, you still kept the ring, wearing it faithfully each day.

"Go to this concert with me?" Your childhood friend, Janice, that was currently living in Korea had pleaded with you using her famous puppy eyes, anticipating your rejection.

"Ok. But who are they? And what kind of group are they?"

"They're a band so they play their own instruments. And the name's DAY6!"

"I've never heard of them before so I'll give it a go."

"Yay! I'll pay for your ticket!"

"Really? How much must you like them to want to pay for me? "

"You'll see."

Indeed you will.

That night, you wore the ring on your middle finger as usual. When you entered, the hall was already crowded with fans, the excited buzzing had already began. Fans were wearing white wristbands as you were and they were also holding cute handmade banners filled with words of encouragement. You smiled at the adorable sight and felt this small bubble of joy growing within you - so this was an inkling of what it felt like to be able to see a band that you loved so much. You spotted six different instruments on stage: someone was on the rhythm guitar and another on the bass guitar. Someone would be playing both the synths and keyboard, an interesting combination for a band. The drums look majestic sitting at a spot higher than the rest, granting the drummer a greater view of the adoring crowd. Last but not least, the electric guitar. War flashbacks of Jae playing the electric guitar in the band raced through your mind and for a moment you could hear his laugh and see his infectious smile again. He quizzed you on the different instruments and you got most of them correct as you did now.

Jae would be proud of me I suppose

Before you had time to think further, the lights around the hall dimmed as the stage lights illuminated the 5 different spots on the stage. The members filed out one by one and Janice squeezed your hand particularly hard by the drummer came out. Manly body with boyish features: a man with dual charms; clearly he was her style. But when the electric guitarist came out, you felt your heart stop beating as the world came down to just you and him.

Jae was standing on stage right in front of you. He still had that same wide smile with straight teeth and he still wore his glasses wherever he went. The only difference was the blonde hair and weight loss; his baby fats in the cheeks were gone, giving his face a much more angular look.

Different look, but definitely still the same person.

His eyes scanned the crowd quickly as Sungjin did the opening mention. When he reached your area, you swore his gaze lingered on you a little longer, the gears in his head rapidly doing the math to calculate the probability of that being you. But before he could make up his mind, Dowoon's drums started off 'How can I say', giving him no time at all before he had to rock out on his own. For the rest of the night, Jae belted out song after song effortlessly but whenever they had breaks in between songs or special interaction with fans, he would always try to search for you amongst the thousands of people but his eyes showed that he wasn't sure. As for yourself, the same could be said. You weren't sure if you'd want to reveal yourself to Jae. But perhaps you were afraid of his reaction. Would he hate to see you? Would he remember you? But worst of all, would he pretend that he didn't know you when you knew he could? A million thoughts ate away at your mind throughout the concert, and you couldn't focus on anything much except for Jae. When the concert ended, you decided to flee before you did something stupid or had your heart broken by Jae.

"Y/N where are you going? There's still the fansign."

Oh right, she got VIP tickets for me too.

That means you'll have to face the inevitable: Jae. As the line in front of you got shorter and shorter, your face got redder and redder from many illogical things at once: embarrassment, anticipation, awkwardness. You thought of the worst case scenario that could happen later when you got to Jae, whom just had to be the last in the row. First was the bassist that looked ridiculously cute followed by the leader that spoke with a thick accent. The shy drummer could barely hold your eye he signed your poster for you and the adorable pianist gave you the sweetest, widest smile.

When you finally got to Jae, you said the lamest thing off the top of your head.

"Hi Jae. It's been a long time."

"Hi Y/N I've missed you."

You nearly cried there and then.

Jae POV

It's her. I swore it was her. I could recognise her from a million miles away. I rushed off stage once the concert was over to find her but Sungjin pulled me back before I could even take a step off stage. Then that's when I see her towards the end of the snaking line, her hands trembling slightly as she chewed on her nails, and that's why they say old habits die hard.

When her name fell past my lips now after so many years, she almost cried, her eyes turning red instantly. The staff was rushing her and I hastily signed her poster (across my face by accident) but before she could leave, I had to do something. Grabbing her arm like she did to me, I quickly wrote a message to her before letting her go.

"Meet me backstage later." - the note said.

What do I do now? What's he going to say?

"So how was it? Were they fantastic?"

"Absolutely."

"So who's your bias?"

"Jae."

"No wonder you lingered so long at his spot."

"Yea haha, hey would you mind waiting for me a little? I need to use the washroom."

"Sure. I'll wait for you at the entrance."

Once you were safely out of her sight, you took off in the backstage direction and before you could locate him, you felt a hand reach out to pull you into a storage closet.

There, surrounded by floor cleaners and mops, you met Jae again after so many years.

"Y/N there's so much to say to you but there's so little time...how do I even..."

"Slow down Jae. I'm going to stay in Korea for some time, we can always meet again to talk. It's just so good to see you again."

"It is. I'm sorry for disappearing so many years ago, I tried so hard so find you after that-"

To prevent him for rattling on, you grabbed his hand lightly.

"It's alright Jae, you can tell me all about it in future. For now...I'm just glad to see you again, that's all I can say."

You felt him twisting the ring and when you looked down, you found him wearing the same ring on the exact same finger.

"I can't believe you wear it after so long..."

"I could say the same."

"I wear it as a reminder to fulfill my promise to you."

"Well, I guess fate has given us a little push now."

"And I love it. Oh and sorry about the poster, I signed on my face in a hurry."

"Well, I won't be needing the poster much since I'll be seeing the man himself soon."

Jae smiled widely at your statement, holding onto your hand tighter so that we won't lose you again.

Epilogue

It was Christmas season but here you were hunched over your laptop, typing out the last few segments of your report for submission in 2 hours time. You were shivering badly in the cold; today was unnaturally cold with heavy snowfall and the heater was broken. You tried to ignore the biting cold and focus on the task at hand. Right at the moment, Jae walked over with a snuggie and draped it over your shoulder.

"Stay warm baby."

"Thanks Jae." You kissed the back of his hand before letting him go. Despite the additional layer, you were still shivering and you had to breathe some heat into your palms every few minutes to prevent your fingers from going numb.

"Here baby." Before you could register what was happening in your slow mind, a weight was lifted off your shoulders. Jae now had a regular blanket wrapped over himself as he wriggled his awkward body into the space between you and the couch. Spreading his legs out, he pulled you into his embrace as he wrapped his arms around your frame. The finishing touch was his head upon your shoulder as he stared ahead at your laptop screen. He was essentially koala-hugging you.

"Jae?"

"I'll keep you warm as you finish the report. Just write." He then kissed your temple before closing his eyes to rest whilst squeezing you slightly. Finding your way out of the thick blanket and his long arms, you rapidly typed out the last few segments and managed to hand in the report an hour early.

Closing your laptop softly, you turned back to Jae to slowly rouse him. Rubbing your thumb along his cheek, you mumbled against the side of his lips.

"Babe I'm done. You can wake up now."

"So fast?"

"Hmmm"

"That's great..." The end of his words dragged out as he let out a yawn, rubbing his eyes and stretched his hands above his head.

Taking advantage of his unguarded position, you decided to have some fun after a long day. Spotting the thin strip of his soft belly that was peeking out from underneath his blue stripped pyjamas, you launched a tickle attack, successfully catching him off guard. Jae yelped before bursting into laughter, completely unable to defend himself as he slowly deflated from laughing too much. Your mistake came when you decided to be nice; Jae immediately attacked from the sides and this went on till both of you somehow ended up on the couch with you on top of him. Once the giggles faded away, you looked down at the beautiful man that was now yours and some wire in your brain decided that now would be a good time to kiss him. Leaning down, you placed your lips on his and it made you giddy with happiness when you felt him smile into the kiss.

Breaking away, your hands went to play with soft hair, running your fingers through them. All this while appreciating the beauty of this man that you can now call yours.

"You should probably get some sleep, it's late."

And so you did. You fell asleep that night with your head tucked under his chin, your arms wrapped tightly around his torso.

#day6writersnet #day6 imagines #day6 scenarios #jae scenarios #jae imagines #day6 jae scenarios #day6 jae imagines #day6 jae #day6 #park jaehyung

163 notes · View notes

massielandnetwork · 3 years

Text

Important Economic Trends During Anarchy

2021 – Let the Games Begin

16. A Christian Secession – Consent of the Governed

As you read this blog I will be sitting on a deck looking at the Atlantic Ocean sipping a mug of sweet tea and reading. It has been 16 months since I had a break so I have 16 months of periodicals and books waiting for me. Sounds awesome.

In the third grade I attended a rural, two story school with wood stoves for heat. The teachers were superb and I constantly use the lessons I learned. One lesson was the importance of thinking for myself. In a memorable exchange, a teacher asked me if told me to jump off the roof of the school would I do it? The correct answer was “No”. Think, do not follow.

If you are looking for the events, daily more and more Americans are realizing that they no longer can simply follow the directions of those in leadership positions because most “elected” officials are only thinking about themselves. This trend is critical to the health of the USA. Without the consent of the governed, “leaders” are the equivalent of drum majors marching down a street with no one following them.

Some examples:

1. The audits of Arizona, Antrim County Michigan, and others uncovering fraud are now sparking a call for annual financial audits of all elected politicians. ABSOLUTELY.

2. The United Methodist Church is divided between progressive and conservative interoperation of The Bible. The progressive bishop in the North Georgia Conference abruptly tried to transfer the conservative pastor who is the head minister of the largest UMC congregation in the North Georgia Conference. The pastor refused, resigned his credentials, and the congregation hired him as their head pastor. Amen.

Two quick items we learned this week about the Biden:

1. Trump had cut off funding for the PLO but Biden sent $90 Million in aid to the PLO last month. Apparently, the PLO used the money to buy rockets to launch into Israel. Here is a fun game - identify all the idiots in that equation.

2. Americans in the eastern USA states suffered a shortage of gasoline at gas stations. What was the Biden’s response? “If you were driving electric cars, you would not care about the gasoline shortage.” In contrast, here is an adult question – “If we were all driving electric cars would there be enough electricity in the grid?” Nope.

There are many important questions facing the USA. The answers will describe the future of the USA, our economy, and therefore our land market. Here are some of them.

1. Are we on the front edge of destructive inflation?

That is the highest probability. The annual rate of inflation for the 12 months ending April was 4.2% BUT the April rate of inflation was 0.8% (9.8% per year). The impact of the $1.9 Trillion in deficit spending passes earlier this year and the proposed $6 Trillion that has passed the House is a year away. That spending is on top of the normal budge deficit our government had already approved. That vibration you feel is the wheels of this little wagon wobbling and about to fall off.

2. Why is the Department of Justice not prosecuting anyone for the material from Jeffrey Epstein’s pedophilia network much less the Hunter Biden laptop?

Logic suggests that the only reason that information has not led to prosecution of pedophiles is that it is being used in some other way. The videos and other records were used by Epstein to accumulate wealth, probably from blackmail. It would be interesting to match the list of Epstein Alumni with a list of the top business leaders and government officials so see if it explains their behavior and many of the illogical positions companies are taking publicly.

3. What is the real benefit of the two Biden proposed “Infrastructure” bills?

In the Obama stimulus bill, billions of Dollars went to Democratic Party related organizations such as Organize America. Those Democratic Party affiliates prospered and folks associated with those organizations became wealthy on our taxpayer dollars. The highest probability is that Biden’s bills are not about physical infrastructure, but about power.

4. What is the importance to our society that Ford moved a $1 Billion proposed manufacturing facility from the USA to Mexico and U.S. Steel scrapped a $1.5 Billion manufacturing facility proposed two years ago to be built in Pennsylvania?

They return the USA to the continuation of two trends the Democrats and some Republicans want to continue – (a) the hollowing out of America’s manufacturing base, and (b) the preservation of the mercantile state known as China. It would be interesting to know which government officials are profiting from those trends.

5. If noting happens in Russia without Putin’s approval and nothing happens in China without Xi’s approval, why are Russians launching ransomware attacks against the USA while massing troops along the Ukrainian border and China rattling sabers about Taiwan?

Both leaders plus the rest of the world recognize that Biden is incompetent and our government is being run by a committee of DMs who bring a new definition to the word “Idiot”.

6. How does “Pay to Play” affect the Leadership of Congress?

Congressional leadership positions are based upon who can raise the most money, not their ability – leadership or otherwise. This form of “Pay to Play” is a major reason that elected officials become and are corrupted by money. In their world, Money Buys Everything.

China has played this situation perfectly by “investment” opportunities for spouses (if the elected official’s spouse receives a “financial benefit” that is deemed okay by Congressional rules. I would love to know the wealth of each Congressional spouse and the source of that wealth.

For example, over the years there have been rumors about the rapidly growing wealth of Pelosi’s husband. She is Speaker because she bought it by funding other Democrats running for the House. Is China her source of money? Congress is a game and we taxpayers are the losers paying the tab.

Keep watching the activity about the fraudulent election last November.

1. Michigan – The Antrim County investigation results are in and they prove massive fraud. Previously the Michigan Supreme Court previously ruled that the Michigan Secretary of State exceeded her authority when she approved a variety of changes to the state’s election laws. Was the “certified” election in Michigan a fraud? YES.

2. The Arizona legislature authorized recount of 2.1 Million votes in Maricopa County, Arizona is rolling despite the DMs attempt to prevent it. I have read that the Department of Justice has 100 attorneys assigned to shut down the audit. Do you find it interesting that the DM’s do not want the election audited?

3. Lawsuits have been filed and counter filed by Mike Lindell, Sidney Powell, and Dominion (the voting machine company). Stay tuned, much more to come.

128 days into the DMs’ coup, I am tired of losing and exhausted with self-important politicians and bureaucrats who in the real world would be recognized as idiots.

A great piece of land remains The Best investment long term. Capitalism builds wealth, Marxism/Socialism consumes it in self destruction. Pray for a return to honest elections in the USA. God is in control. Men make plans, but God ALWAYS wins.

“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds so that you may discern what is the will of God – what is good and acceptable and perfect.”

(Romans 12:2) New Revised Standard Version, Oxford University Press)

Stay healthy,

Ned

May 19, 2021

0 notes

politicoscope · 4 years

Text

Babagana Umara Zulum Biography and Profile

New Post has been published on https://www.politicoscope.com/babagana-umara-zulum-biography-and-profile/

Babagana Umara Zulum Biography and Profile

Babagana Umara Zulum History

Engr. Dr. Babagana Umara Zulum, was born 26 August 1969 in Mafa local Government area of Borno State. After his elementary and secondary education, he went to Ramat Polytechnic, Maiduguri, where he obtained a National Diploma in Irrigation Engineering in 1988. From there, he proceeded to the University of Maiduguri to Study Agricultural Engineering between 1990 and 1994. Afterwards, he had his mandatory service year in Katsina State. Not satisfied with the thirst for knowledge, he still went ahead to obtain a masters degree in Soil and water Engineering from the university of Ibadan from 1997 to 1998. He came back to Maiduguri to his Alma-Mata to undertake a doctoral degree which was successfully completed in 2009 in Agric and Environmental Engineering.

All along, he has been serving his state in various capacities as a technical officer up to the rank of a principal water engineer with Borno State Unified Local Government. In the year 2000 he took up an appointment with the University of Maiduguri as an assistant lecturer in the department of Agric Engineering, he went through the ranks to become a Senior Lecturer in 2008. During these years, he was at one time or the other in positions of responsibility.

Prof Babagana Umara Zulum Biography and Profile

“Every day, I trekked for seven kilometers to reach my father’s farm from our home,” Babagana Umara Zulum recalled. He combined farming with his primary and school in Mafa and Monguno from 1975 to 1980 and 1980 to 85, respectively. At “class five” in secondary school in Monguno, he began to fully cater for his education.

“From 1984 to around 1999 (16 years) I became a commercial driver of taxis, particularly Peugeot 404. At some point, I also drove buses carrying passengers to different villages, and neighboring states. At a later time, I drove commercial pickup trucks carrying firewood from forests. While working as commercial driver, I learned how to fix any vehicle I drove,” he recalled.

In 1986, Zulum gained admission into Ramat Polytechnic in Maiduguri, owned by the state government, to study for a National Diploma in Irrigation Engineering, and lived with relatives off-campus in Kofa Biyu, a densely-populated area. “I trekked for eight kilometers from Kofa Biyu to Ramat Polytechnic and back whenever I had lectures.

But I was already used to long walks all my life, as I couldn’t afford transport to school. Whenever I drove taxis and returned the vehicles to owners, I used what I got for my basic school needs. I later also became a commercial operator of grinding machine, and I owned one in Mafa, and during weekends I went there to serve customers,” he said. He obtained his ND in 1988.

In 1989, Babagana Umara Zulum joined to the Borno State civil service as an Assistant Technical Officer in the state’s Ministry of Agriculture. In 1990, he moved into Borno State Unified Local Government Service as Senior Field Overseer. “While working, the salary couldn’t cater for my needs and some dependants, so I continued commercial driving to augment my income,” he recalled.

Babagana Umara Zulum Education

It was still as a commercial driver that in 1990, he secured admission into University of Maiduguri for a degree in Agricultural Engineering, and graduated in 1994. After three years, he again got admission into the University of Ibadan for an MSc in Agricultural Engineering. “An experience after gaining admission in Ibadan will always remain memorable, as my registration was delayed for three weeks because I could not pay my registration fees. I didn’t have the money when I departed Maiduguri, but I believed I could get some work to do in Lagos. For three weeks, I lived in Alaba Rago working with commercial vehicles and there I raised the money for my tuition. I went to Ibadan, paid my fees and started. I graduated in 1998, returned to the civil service as a Senior Agricultural Engineer and later Principal Water Engineer,” he noted.

After obtaining a Masters Degree, Zulum said, he joined the University of Maiduguri in 1998 as an assistant lecturer. From 2005 to 2009, he obtained PhD in Soil and Water Engineering from University of Maiduguri, rising through the ranks, at some point Deputy Dean and Acting Dean of the Faculty of Agricultural Engineering. Zulum decided to retain his teaching job in UNIMAID, even while he was appointed into the state government in 2011.

Though a he was appointed rector of Ramat Polytechnic in 2011 by Governor Shettima, he preferred to retain his salary of lecturer in UNIMAID. He continued with teaching students in UNIMAID during his lecture hours while also managing the Ramat Polytechnic. “I didn’t want anything to stop me from teaching in University of Maiduguri so I retained that as my main job and I continued doing everything I was supposed to do as lecturer without also compromising my appointment in the state government,” he said.

As rector of Ramat Polytechnic, Zulum is credited with expansions and erecting capital infrastructure using internally-generated revenue and attracting interventions from federal agencies.

In 2015, Zulum was appointed pioneer Commissioner for Reconstruction, Rehabilitation and Resettlement by Shettima, who told a gathering in Maiduguri last week that one of his attractions to Zulum was the fact that despite being in control of billions of naira for reconstruction of thousands of homes, schools and hospitals, “[He] neither bought a personal house nor a personal car for himself. He also came under attack from Boko Haram twice, but didn’t stop in his efforts to rebuild substantial parts of Borno.” Zulum himself said that his appointment as Commissioner for Reconstruction, Rehabilitation and Resettlement was one of his biggest challenges in life.

“Governor Shettima told me in September 2015 that he was trusting me with so much funds for the rebuilding of hundreds of communities destroyed by Boko Haram, and he was worried about the displacement of more than two million people of the state. That appointment was one major challenge, and I took it up ready to die doing it or trying. Yes, at some point, there was the issue of safety since insurgents can spring surprises, but we had the overwhelming support of the military and the police in particular, as well as other security agencies, and volunteers.

The rebuilding was something that needed to be done. As the governor said, we couldn’t wait forever. I’m happy that he succeeded in his determination to rebuild many communities, particularly places like Bama. Today, the government has resettled victims in most of the LGAs, including Bama, Kaga, Dikwa, Gwoza, Askira Uba and others.”

“We rebuilt more than 10,000 houses in Bama, schools and hospitals in that local government area, and most others. The ministry is still working and I am sure in few months the governor will complete the rebuilding, and this is major history for the administration and the people of Borno,” Babagana Umara Zulum said.

Babagana Umara Zulum Age

Babagana Umara Zulum was born on 26 August 1969.

Babagana Umara Zulum Wife

Professor Babagana Umara Zulum is married to Dr. Falmata Umara Zulum.

Babagana Umara Zulum Biography and Profile

#Babagana Umara Zulum #Babagana Umara Zulum Biography #Babagana Umara Zulum Biography and Profile #Borno State Governor #Governor of Borno State #Nigerian Political Leader #Nigerian Politician

0 notes

itsfinancethings · 4 years

Text

New story in Business from Time: Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan Is Still Optimistic About the Economy—and the Lure of Cash

(Miss this week’s The Leadership Brief? This interview above was delivered to the inbox of Leadership Brief subscribers on Sunday morning, Aug. 9; to receive weekly emails of conversations with the world’s top CEOs and business decisionmakers, click here.)

Banks offer a front-row seat to the state of the economy. After a brutal second quarter for the U.S, Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan believes that the worst is behind the country. Still, his bank’s economists predict that the unemployment rate will be at 10% at the end of the year and that the economy won’t fully recover to 2019 levels until early 2023.

BofA, like other banks, has played a critical role in getting government stimulus funds into the hands of cash-starved businesses: It processed 334,000 Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans, delivering $25 billion in funding for small businesses. At the same time, the bank has worked with major corporations to bolster its balance sheets, raising $461 billion in capital for clients (earning record fees for its investment-banking unit in the process).

Moynihan, who in college was a co-captain of the Brown University rugby team, worked as a corporate lawyer before moving into banking and became CEO of BofA in 2010. He led a turnaround at the bank after a near crippling 2008 acquisition of troubled subprime lender Countrywide Financial, attracting Warren Buffett as a major investor along the way. Buffett’s conglomerate, Berkshire Hathaway, in recent days increased its holding in BofA, bringing its total ownership stake to approximately 12% of the company. Moynihan, 60, joined TIME for a conversation about the need for additional stimulus, why he’s optimistic about America and its economy, and why Winston Churchill is a good role model for these times.

Subscribe to The Leadership Brief by clicking here.

This interview with Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan has been edited and condensed for clarity.

How would you characterize your economic outlook right now?

We’re optimistic as a company. We continue to see clients making progress; we continue to see the stress in the system come down because of the work the Fed did and the stimulus work that was done.

Even with a forecast of double-digit unemployment at year-end?

Now, you could say, “How is that optimistic?” The answer is, what’s optimistic about it is the worst is behind us. April was the worst month, May was a less worse month, June was better, and in fact July was even better than June. You’re going to have some ebbs and flows based on the virus track, but I think you have to be optimistic that you’re seeing the U.S. consumer continue to spend.

How important is it that the government passes another round of stimulus? [This interview was conducted Monday, Aug. 4, when there was still ongoing negotiations on the a new stimulus package.]

Let’s start with the beginning, that the Administration, Congress and the Fed did a very good job to step in at the end of March, to really put a lot of money into the economy, directly in the hands of the people who needed it most to maintain their ability to survive with an unemployment rate that went up to 15%. If you think about the analogy being a river that we’ve got to cross from pre-COVID to post-COVID, and need to get past COVID, and the river between is the COVID period, some industries are already past COVID because of the nature of what they do. The idea is to keep the money flowing to the people who are still in the process of crossing the river, as opposed to the people who have crossed.

What is your view of the newfound concern about deficit spending?

I think we’ve got to make sure the largest economy in the world recovers fast. If you talk to colleagues around the world, they are very concerned that the U.S. gets out of this because the U.S. economy is so big and creates such demand around the world for the rest of the economy. The idea of worrying about the ultimate deficit right now when you’ve got to get us to the other side of this thing is something that I think we can deal with later on.

So now is not the time to get religion on deficits?

It’s the time to make sure that you’re spending money to keep the economy recovering.

It’s the time to make sure that you’re spending money to keep the economy recovering.

As CEO, you demand excellence from your employees. Why can’t we, as citizens, demand a higher level of excellence from our government?

That’s a political question in terms of getting this done that’s better served for the political advisers we have. Our job is to make sure we deal with whatever comes out of it well.

I hear you, but what should the business community be doing now in Washington to throw its considerable weight around to make sure there’s good outcomes for the country?

The No. 1 thing is businesses have to do what we can do inside our own companies to help blunt this for our teammates. And so, we’ve announced no layoffs; we’ve announced enhanced childcare. We’ve enhanced the pay at our branches; we’ve enhanced the overtime. The No. 1 thing is to take care of your people, and make sure they’re safe, and make sure that they can serve your clients well—then take care of your clients.

BofA is credited with doing a particularly good job of getting PPP funds quickly into circulation. Can you talk about that effort?

The team’s done a great job of getting people through this and helping provide $25 billion–plus of funds to our clients. At one point, we probably had 10,000 people working on this. We spent a lot of resources, a lot of time, a lot of effort. We had to take people off a lot of other places. Volunteers. People working every weekend. Easter holiday weekend. Saturday and Sunday. Overnight. It was all based on the basic principle that the American small-business community needed to get this program in their hands, and it was our job to push it through. We took it as an obligation to help deliver that for the government, and we did.

TIME for Learning partnered with Columbia Business School to offer a series of online, on-demand classes on topics like effective leadership, negotiation and customer-centric marketing. To sign up or learn more, click here.

You’ve also been active in helping corporate clients beef up their balance sheets.

What happened in mid-March to mid-April is that the companies came in and borrowed hundreds of billions of dollars from the banking system, including $70 billion in two weeks from us, with commercial loans.

What’s going on with M&A activity and the advisory business?

As you come into July, you’re starting to see more M&A activity because of the stability of the market. The third quarter, we expect to see more M&A activity. You’ll see more IPO activity—health care IPOs, plus some other tech IPOs

Subscribe to The Leadership Brief by clicking here.

How much interaction do you have with Warren Buffett, who just made another series of investment in BofA? Do you two have a regular call?

We talk periodically. But he wants us to run the company and do a good job with it.

Any particularly memorable insights that he’s shared with you?

He’s a great long-term thinker. The one thing that he both talks to, but also gives you confidence in, is just see where the long-term value of your company is and make sure you’re driving toward that, and not get caught up in the issues of the moment. It’s the work we did over the last decade that positions us well for the COVID-19 crisis; it’s not what we’re going to do today.

Are people still using cash?

We had as much cash go out of the ATMs in the month of July this year as we did last July, and that is $200 million–plus a day. But the digital part of this really grew through online digital purchases, online payments. And by the way, it’s a very good thing if Americans learn how to use less cash, and what you’re doing is, when you go to a coffee shop and you pay with your phone, you will see that grow at a good, fast rate.

Wait, cash is not dead? I thought people didn’t want to touch cash and that contactless payments were all the rage.

Yes, the cash piece is still big—it’s as big as the credit-card piece.

I know the answer to this is “They’re spending it,” but do you have any particular insight into what people doing with the cash? Maybe they are buying print newspapers and print magazines.

It’s still useful to pay for things. People still use cash to buy things every day. Not necessarily the $300 item, but the $10 item. That’s been changing slowly but surely, but cash is still out there, and so one great service that we provide is 18,000 ATMs and 4,000 branches that help people manage cash. Small businesses collect cash, they deposit it; and people use it. Long-term though, the trend of movement from dollar bills to digital dollar bills is relentless.

What type of behavior will you not tolerate on your management team?

People who are passive-aggressive. If you have a point, make it in front of everybody. Life’s busy; there’s not a lot of time. People who sit in a discussion and then come out and try to either talk to me afterward saying, “Well, this is what I thought.” That doesn’t do me any good because we need to process it together as a team.

I understand you’re an admirer of Winston Churchill.

It was unbelievable how he held the country together. You have to admire that kind of tenacity. One of my favorite things when we get into discussions about charities, museums and culture—and whether the story is 100% true, because a lot of Churchill stories can get embellished over the years—but there was a year when they were discussing the budget and Parliament cut the funding for the arts. And Churchill, in the middle of World War II, when they’re getting bombed and scraping by, said, “If we’re not funding the arts, what are we fighting for?”

What is the biggest, most complicated decision on your plate this week?

I’m not sure I can tell you that.

Forgive me for ending on a philosophical note, but it’s about your name, Bank of America. What does America mean right now? I was in a Home Depot over the weekend and witnessed a rage-filled mask confrontation, an ugly, ugly exchange. What does America stand for right now?

America still represents the best place for opportunity to be recognized. Capitalism provides great opportunity. We have to keep focused on capitalism as the solution to the deep problems, but we have to be mindful that we have to manage capitalism to fully align it with what society wants from capitalism. You’ve got to produce profits and purpose. We believe that fully in running our company, and I believe that’s what America stands for: the ability to solve the world’s great problems. It’s an unfinished dream and continues to provide great opportunity. We’ve got to fine-tune it; we’ve got to fix it where it didn’t work right.

I believe that’s what America stands for: the ability to solve the world’s great problems.

MOYNIHAN’S FAVORITES

BUSINESS BOOK: Jim Collins’ books. He’s always thought-provoking.

AUTHOR: The three that I read the most are James Patterson, David Baldacci and John Grisham. It’s not a world I’ve ever played in—spy novels—but they’re fun to read.

APP: ESPN

EXERCISE: I work out in the mornings in sort of a CrossFit nature.

ONE LAST SURPRISE QUESTION: IF YOU WERE STARTING OVER AGAIN, WHAT WOULD YOU DO INSTEAD?

If I had a talent, I’d have loved to have been an architect.

Subscribe to The Leadership Brief by clicking here.

from Blogger https://ift.tt/3gHE3C3 via IFTTT

#IFTTT #Blogger

0 notes

newstechreviews · 4 years

Link

Subscribe to The Leadership Brief by clicking here.

This interview with Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan has been edited and condensed for clarity.

How would you characterize your economic outlook right now?

We’re optimistic as a company. We continue to see clients making progress; we continue to see the stress in the system come down because of the work the Fed did and the stimulus work that was done.

Even with a forecast of double-digit unemployment at year-end?

How important is it that the government passes another round of stimulus? [This interview was conducted Monday, Aug. 4, when there was still ongoing negotiations on the a new stimulus package.]

What is your view of the newfound concern about deficit spending?

So now is not the time to get religion on deficits?

It’s the time to make sure that you’re spending money to keep the economy recovering.

As CEO, you demand excellence from your employees. Why can’t we, as citizens, demand a higher level of excellence from our government?

That’s a political question in terms of getting this done that’s better served for the political advisers we have. Our job is to make sure we deal with whatever comes out of it well.

I hear you, but what should the business community be doing now in Washington to throw its considerable weight around to make sure there’s good outcomes for the country?

BofA is credited with doing a particularly good job of getting PPP funds quickly into circulation. Can you talk about that effort?

You’ve also been active in helping corporate clients beef up their balance sheets.

What’s going on with M&A activity and the advisory business?

Subscribe to The Leadership Brief by clicking here.

How much interaction do you have with Warren Buffett, who just made another series of investment in BofA? Do you two have a regular call?

We talk periodically. But he wants us to run the company and do a good job with it.

Any particularly memorable insights that he’s shared with you?

Are people still using cash?

Wait, cash is not dead? I thought people didn’t want to touch cash and that contactless payments were all the rage.

Yes, the cash piece is still big—it’s as big as the credit-card piece.

I know the answer to this is “They’re spending it,” but do you have any particular insight into what people doing with the cash? Maybe they are buying print newspapers and print magazines.

What type of behavior will you not tolerate on your management team?

I understand you’re an admirer of Winston Churchill.

What is the biggest, most complicated decision on your plate this week?

I’m not sure I can tell you that.

MOYNIHAN’S FAVORITES

BUSINESS BOOK: Jim Collins’ books. He’s always thought-provoking.

AUTHOR: The three that I read the most are James Patterson, David Baldacci and John Grisham. It’s not a world I’ve ever played in—spy novels—but they’re fun to read.

APP: ESPN

EXERCISE: I work out in the mornings in sort of a CrossFit nature.

ONE LAST SURPRISE QUESTION: IF YOU WERE STARTING OVER AGAIN, WHAT WOULD YOU DO INSTEAD?

If I had a talent, I’d have loved to have been an architect.

Subscribe to The Leadership Brief by clicking here.

#Blogger

0 notes

paradox-oflife · 4 years

Text

massive q and a post part 4 ignore this pls

1. Is the grass greener on the other side? It depends on perspective I guess. To me, not really. All of us are going through some stuff in the inside.

2. If a tree falls in the forest and there's no one around to hear it does it make a noise? uuuuuh yeah, i’d say so!

3. Why does it always rain on me? (idk how to respond to this)

4. Have you ever sailed a boat? One time. It was kinda scary ngl but my brother basically did most things for me.

5. Do you love or loathe Harry Potter? Love. Bro, 2nd grade me reading books under the covers. Catch me with some Percy Jackson or HP.

6. Do you do your utmost for the environment? Of course mate. Though one person won’t have much effect on global warming, you gotta respect your surroundings.

7. Do you love or loather Eurovison? I only watched it once. Reminds me a lot of the Voice. I don’t really watch that type of stuff though.

8. Have you ever wielded a sword? YEAH. I got a plastic one for a skit in school and god it was so much fun doing choreographed fights. I felt cool.

9. If you were famous would you want a statue or a building names after you? Maybe something small. Nothing too big. Depends what I did to become famous too.

10. Whats your favourite type of fish? Why the Blobfish of course.

11. Which do you prefer pony tails or pig tails? Ponytails. I wear low ponytails like everyday because my hair makes my face irritated sometimes.

12. Whats the ultimate cake topping? Fruit. Enough said.

13. Do you like marzipan? It’s no bad.

14. Whats better? Center Parks or Butlins? (I’m assuming this is another British thing for hotels)

15. If you were in a band, what instrument/role would you play? I actually was in a band during high school with my friends, except we barely performed. We just hung out in the garage playing songs we liked. I was the bassist, or sometimes when the keyboardist couldn’t make it I’d play piano. I wanted to try drums but i can’t move my limbs independently enough. I tried picking up the guitar but there’s too many strings lmao i can’t memorize enough chords

16. Can you erect a tent? Nope

17. Do you suck or bite lollipops? Suck it until I get bored, then i CRONCH it

18. Have you ever used a telephone book? (yeah im old enough to remember these things) I used it as fuel for a fireplace lol

19. If you have an mp3 player what size is it? I used to have one. It was smaller than my hand.

20. Do you still have any music on vinyl or casettes? No :( I don’t have a vinyl player but I have old casettes of Chinese Children songs lmao

21. Do you still have a camera that uses conventional film? My dad has one, but it’s out of batteries.

22. Approximately how many DVD's do you have? A lot. I have one of those books with DVD holders and they’re just movies like Shrek.

23. Approximately how many Albums do you have? Downloaded on my phone - a lot.

24. Do you talk to yourself? When I’m alone. I’ve done it before at school and I got crazy looks

25. Do you sing to yourself? ONLY when Im by myself. God forbid anyone hears me singing.

26. Do you know any identical twins? I know two pairs that’s my age, and a pair that’s 27 I believe.

27. Have you ever given blood? No, I really should as someone with blood type O+ but im a big WUSS when it comes to needles.

28. Could you ever be a medical guineapig? Nah. I need something that’s been tested. Because if they screw up, chances are they won’t know how to fix it.

29. Whats your favourite radio station? Classical music station for short drives because I don’t know like any of the “mainstream” stuff. But I just connect my phone to the car and listen to my own playlists.

30. Whats your favourite letter of the Alphabet? X feels so exotic

31. Which is better? rollerblade or rollerskates? Rollerskates.

32. Have you ever written a love letter? No

33. How many valentines cards did you recieve this/last year? 5. They were all from my friends :)

34. What are cooler? Dinosaurs or Dragons? Dragons for SURE

35. Have you ever made your own ice lollipops? No

36. Have you ever made your own Ice cream? No

37. Which foreign language did you have to learn at school? and do you still remember enough to hold a conversation in that language? I did two years of Spanish in middle school, but for high school I went the easy path and took Chinese. Then again, most people who take Chinese already speak Chinese. I did it to jump to AP faster.

38. Do you know CPR? Only from the Office, but I’ve never had to do it before. I heard you have to keep pushing until the ribs break??

39. Do you have any swimming badges? Nah, I can swim but I sure am slow

40. Do you prefer digital or rotary/analogue clocks? I’m alright with either

41. How tall is the tallest person you know? 6′7″. Mate, I’m 5′1″, I literally have to tilt my head so high just to talk with him.

42. Have you ever got lost in a maze? omg yeah in New Zealand there’s this thing called a sensory maze. And at one point you go into this room where the seizure inducing lights are flashing on and off super quickly and it’s filled with mirrors. Me and my cousin were basically crawling on the floor because we kept crashing into mirrors.

43. Have you ever been attacked by a wild animal? No and I hope I never do

44. Have you ever ridden a camel? No. Don’t see a lot of camels in California

45. Whats your opinion on rats? They’re alright. As long as they’re not in my house

46. Have you ever been to a gym? Yeah.

47. Have you ever been in a helicopter? No, but it seems kind of fun

48. Have you ever cheated at a test? Okay, maybe a couple times but after 9th grade i STOPPED

49. Have you ever ridden a tractor? Yeah, I even wore a bandana.

50. Are you a gossip? No. I only spill tea around people I know who can keep secrets.

51. Have you ever cried at a film? Yeah. The last time was during Avengers Endgame when Black Widow sacrifices herself.

52. When you're ill do you struggle on regardless or just curl up in bed as much as possible? Well, coming from an Asian family, I developed that type of mentality where if it’s just a cold, then I keep going. If I have a fever, then I stay home.

53. Do you need to write down things to remember them? Most of the times

54. Do you keep a diary/journal? I’ve kept one since 6th grade. It’s so interesting to see how my mentality and thinking has changed over the years. From my lowest points to my highest, it’s so cool.

55. Are you scared of thunderstorms? Nah, unless there’s lightning close by. One time I was at Taiwan and there was lightning like right outside my house. Bro it’s the scariest thing ever. You see a flash of lightning next to the window and the house rattles with a BOOOOOM. Legit, it’s so loud

56. Do you have any unusual fears or phobias? I mean, needles are a pretty common fear so I guess not.

57. Whats your favourite disney movie? Lion King. The remake wasn’t that bad imo.

58. Have you ever slept in a caravan? Nope

59. Have you ever painted a house? I’ve painted inside one

60. Have you got green fingers? I mean, I’m alright with plants.

61. Whats the tallest tree you've ever climbed? Not that tall because I slipped and fell one time and had the air knocked out of me. Thought I would die there lol

62. Have you ever dialed the talking clock? (another uk thing)

63. Do you always wear identical socks? I try to but hey, if I don’t care, then it’s a free for all

64. Do you live by any motto or philosophy? A couple actually. A lot of comes from the Bible, specifically the whole Matthew 5-7 sermon on the mountain

65. Do you lick the yoghurt or desert lid? Yes, there’s so much on there.

66. Do you lick the spoon clean after making something sweet? Usually, unless it’s like raw or something

67. Do you like the sound of music? (the musical/film) I remember watching that on those old TVs during elementary school. I think it’s a pretty nice film!

68. Have you ever made your own orangejuice? Yeah

69. Have you ever sucked on a lemon? yes and i think i had a sweet lemon because it was honestly not sour

70. Have you ever licked a battery? no WTF

71. Are you a good aim with a rubber band? Ah, not really.

72. Have you ever played golf? Yee

73 .Whats the most unusual name you've ever come across? I met a Jezebel before. The name meaning itself isn’t bad, but that character in the Bible is associated with pretty bad things

74. Do you prefer to wash in the mornings or evenings? Evening showers>>>> you literally CANNOt change my mind

75. Have you ever danced in the rain? No. because I hate getting my shoes wet.

76. Do you like long or short hair? Long hair

77. Have you ever sworn at an authority figure? Nope. I’m a good kid

78. Have you ever walked into a wall? Yes. So embarrassing.

79. Whats your favourite precious metal? N/A

80. Whats your favourite precious stone? N/A

81. Could you ever hunt your own meal? No way.

82. Have you ever read any comics? None of your standard American DC Comics, but yeah.

83. Where do you like to go to on a first date? Somewhere personal. Doesn’t matter where really. I mean personal like, a picnic on a grassy plain, or under a starry sky. Studio Ghibli vibes.

84. Do you prefer vertical or horizontal stripes? Horizontal I guess

85. Have you ever baked your own bread? Yeah and it came out like pita chips lol

86. Can you believe I can't believe its not butter is in fact not actually butter? I don’t eat that much butter, but I guess it’s what it says in the title?

87. Can you name all 50 American states? Yes. Capitals though? Maybe 70%

88. Have you ever owned a goldfish? Ive had a beta fish and two guppies in second grade.

89. What was your favourite school subject? Orchestra and Literature. A lot of people are surprised at my choice of lit. But I actually love reading and analyzing, though writing papers kind of suck. The problem for me when it comes to writing papers isn’t coming up with a topic, it’s wording it in MLA format. Like I could discuss with people all the time but its hard to organize my thoughts.

90. What was your least favourite school subject? Math. Which is a bit odd because I’m actually not too bad at it. But I’ve had the most mental breakdowns when it comes to math. Geez, AP Calc was a ride. I also cried in Chemistry once.

91. Have you ever passed wind in an embarassing situation? Not that I can’t think of. And Im sure if I have, it would be engraved in my memories.

92. Have you ever played the bongos? Yeah. Pretty fun.

93. Have you ever handled a snake? Yeah it was a smol milk snake. He was a shy boy.

94. Have you ever assembled furniture by yourself? OMG YEAH from Ikea it was such an experience. The satisfaction of sitting in a chair you built all by yourself is so satisfying.

95. When did you last go to the beach? Like... a while ago. A year ago maybe.

96. When if ever did you last go to london? Haven’t been there, but totally would!

97. What do you do to cool down when its hot? Sit inside with a fan, or A/C

98. Whats the most unusual thing you've ever eaten? Okay now don’t judge me on this one but i LOVE century eggs. It’s not too uncommon to find them in Taiwan.

0 notes

sockparade · 4 years

Text

aggravated robbery

Does every generation complain about maturing to adulthood or is that a millennial specialty?

Does saying “adulting is hard” make things feel lighter or heavier than it really is? Sometimes I get the feeling like I’m laughing at a meme for a very different reason than the 3,492 other people who double tapped before me. (Yeah okay fine, I think the special snowflake feeling is probably a millennial specialty.)

No, but really, hear me out. I think some people say “adulting is hard” when they mean, “I really don’t wanna get out of my warm bed in the morning because I went to bed too late last night and don’t even have a memorable reason for it.” Okay, improv class, this is where I say, yes AND...

I like a warm cozy bed and sleeping in just as much, maybe more, than the next guy! Yes AND...

It sucks to pay money to go to the dentist where they inflict pain and shame on you and you politely thank them in return. Yes AND...

It’s hard to be a mom when you are coming down with a cold because not only do you want to crawl under your covers to enjoy your fever dream in peace but caring for little kids is an inescapable reminder that you’re not a kid yourself anymore. No one is feeling your forehead every 30 minutes to check whether your fever has broken. And apparently, being sick gets you out of a lot of obligations in life but it does not exempt you from wiping kid noses and butts. Yes AND...

The real reason I laugh cry when I see memes about growing older is because adulthood sometimes feels like the painful destruction of all the things you’ve spent the previous twenty years believing in. I know. I went kind of dark there. But it’s true!

Here are a few robberies that adulthood has committed in my life thus far:

Time. I blush thinking about the abundance of time I have had in my life. My childhood was the opposite of over-scheduled and my college years were unambitious and uninvolved with a long distance boyfriend for most of it. All my life I have luxuriated in excess free time. Adulthood created an uncomfortable, anxious feeling of scarcity in me when it comes to time and how I spent it.

Freedom. This one was disguised as personal growth and improvement but I can see it now for what it was. Trying to become a “good person” made me second guess my intentions, feelings, and desires. Objectively I have a better (read: finer) filter but it hasn’t come without a cost.

Friendship. Growing up means realizing that there are external forces that act on your friendships. This sounds so basic. I really did not ever consider that I would not be living in the same city as my besties -- at least not permanently. The ease in which I used to hold deep bonds with people now seems mythical in an adult context. Making friends is easy enough but damn, I really don’t remember friendship building and maintenance taking such determination and focus.

Dreams. Haha shit this post is getting pretty depressing. I think maybe this one is more about possibility? I remember feeling like the whole world was available for me. I still have a lot of dreams of what my future might hold but I feel like the width of possibility has narrowed considerably. Because at this point, in my late thirties, I’ve already made some key choices. I’m not talking about regret. I don’t really subscribe to that way of thinking. But it’s kind of like realizing that you can do anything you want, sure, as long as it fits into the world you’ve already created for yourself thus far.

Peace. Not sure if I can blame adulthood for this one but I don’t think I was even aware of the concept of anxiety until my thirties and it has steadily increased with each passing year. I can’t decide if this is more about age, privilege, or society but I find myself chasing peace. Worrying about if I’m wasting my life or making the wrong choices. Or sometimes just an existential dread. Whether it’s prayer, mediation, reading, or intimacy... I’m just trying to find the peace I used to take for granted.

Safety/Invincibility. This one feels like the most... developmentally appropriate. Haha. Both of our cats died last year. We adopted them as kittens my sophomore year in college and they were my first pets (not counting all the fish -- shoutout to Bubbles!). Adulthood means seeing those you love battle with disease, pain, and death. I guess this one has always been around but seeing your own parents age and feeling your own body age is an unsettling exercise in staring into the dark void of your own inevitable, impending death.

Agency. Related to safety and invincibility, I feel like my sense of agency has taken quite a few shots in the last decade. I’ve never been one to need ultimate control over my life. I’ve just always wanted to feel like I could keep trying. Could keep iterating. Being able to choose my next steps just doesn’t have the same bounce it used to. It doesn’t bring me the same comfort.

Religion. I’ve been writing at least six standalone blog posts in my head on this topic but I’ll just briefly say here that the baggage that comes with deconstructing Christianity and trying to reconnect with God is unlike any other category listed here. Partly because it is foundational and touches each category in deep, sometimes unarticulated ways. I’m so glad God has remained true despite many concerted efforts to use religion to trap the divine.

Fairness. Maybe this one is unique to me. I was raised to be more patriotic than the average American citizen. I grew up with a shallow understanding of immigration and bought into American Dream rhetoric without much critical thinking or analysis. I thought the United States was the best country in the world, and beyond that, I thought it was the most radical experiment in government. I was a business school undergrad who naively thought capitalism and meritocracy were great ideas. I know a lot of grown ass adults still claim both but working a full time job and trying to buy a house in the Bay Area sobers you up pretty quick. Spending the last ten years of my career focused on education and workforce development for low-income communities has obliterated any belief in the existence of fairness and equity of our economic, criminal justice, and education systems that I may have previously held.

Growth/Productivity. With all these pillars crumbling, the last five years have been a complex lesson in how micro-productivity isn’t where I should or want to build a new pillar. I am disheartened by how often my personal efforts to grow are exposed as capitalist schemes. I am frustrated with how unsatisfying the endeavor of productivity has been. I am convicted by how ableist my basic ideas of productivity, work ethic, and individual value are. Earlier this year I read Jenny Odell’s “How to Do Nothing: Resisting the Attention Economy” and it crystalized a lot of thoughts I’ve been circling around in this regard.

So, what’s left?

I still believe in romantic love. The magic of motherhood. The healing properties of being in nature. The energy in humor. The power of stories. The sorcery of the pen.

I hope those don’t fall apart.

I just get the feeling adulthood isn’t done destroying and robbing yet. I don’t know if there’s even an end to it? I suspect knowledge might be the next domino to fall for me. Which isn’t a completely bad thing. It’s just hard, man.

Adulting is hard. The getting out of bed part AND the aggravated robbery.

#adulting #ideas

0 notes

hearttenor7-blog · 5 years

Text

Grace Kelly's grandson Louis Ducruet on engagement to Marie Chevallier

Grace Kelly's grandson Louis Ducruet reveals his American college sweetheart was 'choked with sobs' when he proposed– and says his mother Princess Stéphanie helped pick out the ring

The Palace announced in February that Louis, 26, is to marry Marie Chevallier

Louis and Marie went to the same business school in France college in the US

Marie studied marketing there, and also worked as a French tutor

She has formerly had a job as a checkout girl at a discount supermarket chain

Louis has a BA in sports management; he now works as a football scout

Louis is Stephanie's oldest child with her former husband, Daniel Ducruet

By Unity Blott For Mailonline and Clemence Michallon For Dailymail.com

Published: 16:45 GMT, 27 November 2018 | Updated: 22:43 GMT, 27 November 2018

Monegasque royal Louis Ducruet has revealed there were 'lots' of tears when he proposed to his long-term girlfriend earlier this year.

The son of Princess Stéphanie, and grandson of Grace Kelly of Monaco, is set to wed college sweetheart Marie Chevallier in Louis' hometown - and the pair have already talked babies, they revealed this week.

In an interview with Hello, the young couple, who both describe themselves as 'shy', said it was 'love at first sight' when they first met in North Carolina- as they lifted the lid on introducing Marie to Louis' famous family.

Marie confessed: 'Since we were both equally shy, we spent quite some time trying to catch each other's eye. It took six months for one of us to make the first move. Then it all took off.'

Louis Ducruet and long-term girlfriend Marie Chevallier, pictured in Vietnam in February, have spoken about their upcoming nuptials for the first time since becoming engaged

Marie, pictured in Dubai in February, attended Western Carolina University, in Cullowhee, North Carolina, where she studied marketing - and met her future husband

The couple were visiting Marie's native Vietnam in February when Louis dropped to one knee on the beach, causing her to become 'choked with sobs'.

And there were more tears to come when Louis enlisted his mother and sisters, Pauline and Camille, to help him choose a ring for his future bride.

Recalling the day he took Marie home to meet his mother Princess Stéphanie, Louis said: 'The first time Mum met her she said: "She's absolutely perfect, hand on to her, don't let her go."'

The couple revealed they would be tying the knot at Monaco's Saint Nicholas Cathedral to be near Louis late grandfather, Prince Rainier II and 'include him in [their] happiness'.

The Palace's announcement of the couple's wedding, back in February, mentioned Stéphanie's 'joy' at the upcoming nuptials but didn't specify a wedding date.

Princess Stephanie, 53, announced in February that her son Louis Ducruet, 25, is to marry his girlfriend Marie Chevallier. Louis and Marie are pictured in an engagement shot at the Four Seasons Resort The Nam Hai in Hoi An, Vietnam earlier this year, popping the question

Globe trotters: The pair had recently been sharing series of photos of their trip in Vietnam, during which Louis proposed to Marie

'Her Serene Highness Princess Stephanie has the joy to announce her son Louis Ducruet's engagement with Miss Marie Chevallier,' the message read.

Louis is Stephanie's eldest child with her former husband Daniel Ducruet, who was once the princess' bodyguard. This makes him the grandson of Princess Grace Kelly, Stephanie's mother, who married Prince Rainier III in 1956.

Grace tragically died in a car crash in 1982, and was survived by her children Stephanie, who was in the car with Grace during the fatal crash, Caroline, now 61, and Albert II, 59.

Stephanie had another child with Daniel, 24-year-old Pauline Ducruet, and also has a 20-year-old daughter, Camille Gottlieb.

Louis, who has no title but is 12th in the line of succession to the Monegasque throne, will be the first of Stephanie's children to tie the knot.

Past: Louis and Marie both attended Western Carolina University, in Cullowhee, North Carolina. They have been dating for about five years

Important news: The Palace's announcement, which was kept brief, mentioned Stephanie's 'joy' at the couple's upcoming nuptials but didn't specify a wedding date

Jobs: Marie is now a banqueting and convention coordinator at the Hôtel Hermitage Monte-Carlo, while Louis works as a scout for the AS Monaco soccer club

Souvenirs: The two love birds have made sure to snap plenty of pictures together to capture their memorable trip in Vietnam

Dropping hints? Marie had previously shared this photo of herself holding a 'Happy wife, happy life!' paper bag

The future newlyweds both attended Western Carolina University, in Cullowhee, North Carolina, where Louis earned a bachelor's degree in sports management and Marie studied marketing, Hello Monaco reported previously.

Marie is now a banqueting and convention coordinator at the Hôtel Hermitage Monte-Carlo, while Louis works as a scout for the AS Monaco soccer club.

Prior to earning her bachelor's from Western Carolina University, Marie obtained a Bachelor of Business Administration at Skema, a business school based in France, which Louis also attended.

Her previous jobs include distributing flyers and magazines on the street for an advertising agency in Nice, and working as a supermarket cashier for the French discount store chain Leader Price.

Louis is Stephanie's eldest child with her former husband Daniel Ducruet. The family is pictured in December 1992, two weeks after Louis' birth

Eldest brother: Louis (pictured as a two-wee-old baby with his mother) is the first of Stephanie's three children to tie the knot

She also sold movie tickets and snacks for the French movie chain Les Cinemas Gaumont et Pathe, and was once employed as a salesperson for France's state-owned railway company, the SNCF.

While at Western Carolina University, Marie was a French tutor. She was also an active member of the student union board at Skema.

Marie, who has been working at the Hôtel Hermitage Monte-Carlo for two years, shares her future husband's love of soccer, and cheered on the AS Monaco during the UEFA Champions League semi final first leg match in May last year.

Louis, meanwhile, also earned a Bachelor of Business Administration at Skema before studying at Western Carolina University. He started working at the AS Monaco as an intern and has been at his current position for two years.

Message: 'Let me introduce you the future madame Ducruet,' Louis (pictured with Marie and his uncle Prince's Albert II of Monaco) said in his post . 'She said yes and we are now engaged'

Happy: As for Marie (pictured with Louis and Stephanie in a file photo), she wrote : 'Proud to announce that, I said YES to the love of my life. I love you so so so much'

Careers: At Western Carolina University, Louis earned a bachelor's degree in sports management while Marie studied marketing. They are pictured in a file photo

Royals: Louis is the grandson of Princess Grace Kelly, Stephanie's mother. Grace and Stephanie are pictured together in July 1982 during the annual Red Cross Ball

The pair have dated for about five years, and often share sweet couple photos and loving messages for each other on their respective Instagram accounts.

Both of them have posted touching engagement photos while sharing their happiness with their followers.

The images see Louis down on one knee on a beach at the Four Seasons Resort The Nam Hai in Hoi An, Vietnam, popping the question in a dapper white suit.

Marie, meanwhile, is wearing an emerald green dress in the shots, which see her pulling her future groom towards her for a kiss after she said yes.

'Let me introduce you the future madame Ducruet,' Louis said in his post. 'She said yes and we are now engaged.'

As for Marie, she wrote: 'Proud to announce that, I said YES to the love of my life. I love you so so so much.'

The pair had recently been sharing series of photos of their trip in Vietnam, during which Louis proposed to Marie.

Together, they visited the former capital of Hoa Lu, the gorgeous Ha Long Bay, Ho Chi Minh City, the imperial city in Hue, and traveled on motorcycles in Hội An.

In each location, the two love birds made sure to snap plenty of pictures together to capture the memorable trip.

Official: Louis and Marie have often appeared at events together, and cheered on the AS Monaco during the UEFA Champions League semi final first leg match in May last year

Throwback: Marie appeared to love her life in the US and has expressed nostalgia for the years she spent in North Carolina, sharing a picture of her graduation in which she posed with Louis

Touching: In December 2016, Marie shared this touching tribute to her later father, writing in the caption: 'You will be missed. I love you Daddy'

Family: Marie posted this photo in 2014, while she was attending Western Carolina University, saying she'd had 'a wonderful weekend' with her mother during a five-day visit

Louis and Marie have attended events together for the past few years, and have been sharing couple selfies since 2013.

Marie, who has two older brothers and is a proud aunt, has called both Monaco and France home. She is an avid traveler who has journeyed around Europe, in the US, and within France.

Her travel snaps include views of Strasbourg and Nice, France, Barcelona, Spain, San Antonio and Dallas, Texas, and Hollywood.

She appeared to love her life in America and has expressed nostalgia for the years she spent studying in North Carolina, sharing a picture of her graduation in which she posed with Louis.

In December 2016, Marie shared a touching tribute to her late father on Instagram, posting a photo of herself in his arms as a child and writing in the caption: 'You will be missed. I love you Daddy.'

Fiancee: Marie (pictured with Louis in a social media snap), who has two older brothers , has called both Monaco and France home

Romance: Louis and Marie have made no mystery of their relationship and often post couple photos such as this one to demonstrate their profound love for each other

Siblings: Marie (pictured as a girl with her two older brothers) is now a proud aunt

WHO IS MARIE CHEVALLIER, LOUIS DUCRUET'S FIANCEE?

Marie, who has called both France and Monaco home, met Louis while both of them were students.

Like him, she attended Skema, a French business school where she earned a Bachelor of Business Administration.

Later on, she studied marketing at Western Carolina University in Cullowhee, North Carolina, while Louis obtained a bachelor's degree in sports management.

Marie, a proud aunt, has two older brothers. She currently works as a banqueting and convention coordinator at the Hôtel Hermitage Monte-Carlo, a palace in Monaco.

Before beginning her current position two years ago, Marie held a variety of jobs as a student.

She has in the past distributed flyers and magazines on the street for an advertising agency in Nice, worked as a supermarket cashier for the French discount store chain Leader Price, sold movie tickets and snacks for the French movie theater chain Les Cinemas Gaumont et Pathe, and was employed as a salesperson for France's state-owned railway company, the SNCF.

While at Western Carolina University, Marie was a French tutor. She was also an active member of the student union board at Skema.

Marie is now an avid traveler who has journeyed around Europe, in the US, and within France.

The travel snaps she has shared on social media include views of Strasbourg and Nice, France, Barcelona, Spain, San Antonio and Dallas, Texas, and Hollywood.

In her spare time, Marie also enjoys watching soccer, sharing her fiance's love for the sport. Together, they were photographed cheering on the AS Monaco during the UEFA Champions League semi final first leg match in May last year.

Retired school mistress, 75, is awarded up to £2million...

Did this Nigel Farage interview on Fox News inspire Trump...

Stable mates! Huge hound and tiny foal nuzzle each other...

Homeland Security chief backs up border patrol saying...

Tesco branch will fine thoughtless shoppers £70 if they...

'Kept woman', 37, whose fiancé, 58, gave her a Porsche...

Four 15-year-old football players facing life in prison...

Married couple caught 'having sex' at Florida beach in...

Florida man, 29, punched and squeezed a seven-week-old...

Furious prostitute, 19, who set hotel bed ablaze after...

California comic Young Busco who started the hilarious...

Groom who put wedding rings up for sale and had 'fajita...

'They did not walk 2000 miles to rape your daughter':...

What would you do? Body camera footage gives viewers a...

'Hermit-looking' Julian Assange gives up his cat:...

The geography of generosity: America's most – and least –...

Doctor, 46, is arrested on child porn charges after...

'We see a path forward': Bode Miller opens up about the...

Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-6434223/Grace-Kellys-grandson-Louis-Ducruet-engagement-Marie-Chevallier.html?ns_mchannel=rss&ito=1490&ns_campaign=1490

0 notes

tripstations · 5 years

Text

Hiking the Nakasendo Trail and staying at a Japanese ryokan

We had been planning our once-in-a-lifetime adventure for nearly a year; 10 months travel around the world visiting 15 countries to explore the history, landscape, wildlife, people and food of each destination across South America, Australasia, the Polynesian Triangle, Southeast Asia, China and Japan.

Our adventure included some of the must-see attractions of global travel; the Atacama Desert, Galapagos Islands, Easter Island, Machu Picchu, Ayres Rock and the Great Wall of China. Our hike on the Nakasendo Trail followed by a careful stay at a ryokan was to be one of the most memorable experiences.

Our luggage was forwarded on to our next city hotel with typical Japanese efficiency allowing my wife, Helene and I to take the wonderful bullet train and far slower local trains to Magome to start our hike on the Nakasendo Trail.

But not before we had our first sight of the magnificent Mount Fuji as we hurtled out of suburbia into lush rolling hills and picturesque valleys. Like every National Geographic image we had seen of Fuji it stood majestically in isolation, dominating the landscape with its summit in snow as if the peak had been dipped in a bucket of melted vanilla ice cream. It was a crisp clear day without a cloud in the blue sky, my goodness it was a wonderful sight. But Mount Fuji had to wait, first was a hike on the most famous trail in Japan.

The Nakasendo Highway or “Road through the Central Mountains” was part of feudal Japan’s network of highways and first established in the 8th C. linking the areas around the then capital Nara as the state grew. It continued to develop until the Edo period when the centre of power moved to what is now Tokyo and it became a communications route to send messages, goods and personnel across the empire between Kyoto and Tokyo. Trodden by feudal lords, samurai, merchants and ancient travellers it was our turn to follow in their footsteps on this most beautiful of trials.

We were just setting off to tackle our small part of the route when we met two elderly ladies a little red faced and puffing a bit, coming in the opposite direction.

‘Goodness,’ said Helene, ‘you look exhausted, is it that tough?’

‘Are you just setting off?’ one of them asked, in a broad North Country accent.

‘Yes, how long has it taken you?’ she asked.

‘Four days so far,’ replied the elderly lady.

The couple went on to explain they were hiking half of the whole Highway, although we had heard it takes up to 12 days to hike the whole trail. We felt a little too ashamed to admit we were tackling only a few miles, so wished them luck and set off up the narrow cobbled path on a beautiful warm and clear day.

Its full length is an impressive 531 km weaving between mountain ranges, on paved and cobbled paths. 69 Villages along its route were selected as juku Post Towns to provide food and lodgings for official travellers, our hike was from one of these, Magome to the most beautiful of them all, Tsumago the finest traditional Post Town in Japan.

In 1968 the Tsumago locals banded together to create a movement and protect the heritage of their town. Their intention was to preserve its old Edo buildings and the Meiji Period unique character of the village, so there are no TV ariels, telephone pylons or electric cables. It looks just like it did hundreds of years ago.

“Ring bell hard against bears” read the sign attached to the first bell post we came across. Without a bear to ring it against I gave the chain a long hard pull with the hope that the peels would scatter any bears on our path. The bells reminded me of the school dinner bell; I hoped it wasn’t the same for the bears.

The bell posts were dotted every half a mile or so along the track as it passed through the pine forest above the gushing Araragi River. We thought singing along the way might add to the bells to frighten off the occasional bear, or at least Helene thought my tone deaf voice might.

Coming out of the bear’s home we arrived at the river bank and an absolutely stunning view of cherry blossom in whites, pink and reds, some trees surprisingly displaying all three. The scene was thick with colour and an ideal place to stop for our picnic of sushi, Sapporo beer and a small bottle of sake on a low table under the cherry blossom, what could be more Japanese? Wonderful.

The trail took us through forests with a deep carpet of pine needles and along old cobbled paths hugging the river, it was a beautiful way to spend an afternoon with very few other walkers on the route.

On arrival at Tsumago we were not disappointed, what an elegant and beautiful village it is, built in the stunning style of ancient Japan and thankfully not overly commercialised.

Our stay that night was at the traditional Japanese boutique hotel Hanaya Ryokan, where we were to experience the best of Japan’s hospitality and its exacting etiquette. It’s the footwear that poses the biggest challenge. Shoes off and lots of mutual bowing on arrival, we were then provided with slippers and followed our host to our room where we were required to enter and remain bare foot, apart from the obligatory colourful toilet sandals, to be worn only inside the toilet. Leaving the smallest room with the sandals still on would be a definite faux pas.

Our room had a low table with still lower and quite demanding chairs, the floor was covered in tatami mats and the walls seemed to be made of paper. But there was something missing, no bed. Our non English speaking host must have registered my confusion as I peered into wardrobes, the bathroom and even the balcony, well you never know!

‘Futon, David,’ said Helene, who knows about these things.

Our host mimed making a bed and not to touch the rolled up colourful duvet affair in another cupboard.

‘Fair enough, floor it is then,’ I said, ‘only one night I suppose.’

We were then handed our own yukata’s, apparently. A dressing gown kimono type of affair that tied, importantly left side over the right (no idea why), with a huge double waist band around the middle, and fell to the floor, Helene looked terrific, I looked like I’d just got out of bed.

We were now all prepared to tackle our first onsen bath, a long-standing tradition the Japanese are very proud of but which is riddled with ritual. We needed to be careful here, onsen bathing is enjoyed naked. These hot cypress springs are both indoor and out and can be communal, fortunately our ryokan provided a segregated option so we set off in our colourful yukatas and a pair of open clogs to find a black flag for me and a red flag for Helene signifying the entry to our respective onsens.

The changing room had a short multilingual notice with instructions for use:

Strip naked.

Now I’m as uninhibited as the next person, but it’s difficult to maintain your dignity swanning around an onsen with nothing more than an insubstantial flannel generously provided in the bamboo basket where you deposit your yukata. Where do you hold it, for a start? There seemed to be two schools of thought here, those who gaily flounced around with flannel flung brazenly over their shoulder, and those who surreptitiously held it casually but carefully in front of them.

Opting for the latter strategy I entered what at first looked like a cross between a beauticians and a milking parlour. Three legged low stools were lined up in front of large wall mirrors while a selection of soaps, oils and other unidentifiable cleansing potions were presented on another low table.

Wash thoroughly before entering the onsen.

Each mirror had a shower attachment next to it, one of those on a coil that is intended to be pulled out of the wall. I glanced at my fellow onsen users for a clue, trying desperately for my glance not to be confused with a stare.

Sitting down close to the floor is an odd way to shower. Having eased my way down onto the low modesty stool I selected a couple of colourful liquids in Japanese bottles giving no indication which part of the body they specialised in and held the shower above me. I must say it was quite an enjoyable experience, I’m not convinced it will replace the more conventional alternative of standing up, but once I realised no one paid any attention to where all the hot steamy water was flying around it was fun.

Enter the onsen slowly, it is hot.

I made a quick dash to submerge myself in a vacant area of the open air onsen. Mt goodness, it was hot.

I watched the sun go down behind the blossom laden hills in the distance as the hot oily water soothed my aching limbs from hiking the Nakasendo Trail. And I got it. What a wonderful way to spend an early evening, no wonder the Japanese are so proud of the tradition.

Dinner was to be an equally traditional affair. Dressed back in our yukata and the second set of slippers of the evening we were directed to our personal dining area in the partitioned restaurant and seated at a low table laid beautifully with small bowls and dishes, jugs of sake and glasses of a wonderfully sweet plumb wine.

The dishes kept coming from our waitress in her colourful kimono and the sake kept flowing as our miming of the ingredients became more extravagant and funnier. We collapsed into futons late in the evening for a wonderful night’s sleep, what a glorious day.

David Moore is Author of ‘Turning Left Around the World’. Published by Mirador and available from Amazon, it is an entertaining account of David and his wife’s travel adventures – often intriguing, frequently funny and occasionally tragic.

If you would like to be a guest blogger on A Luxury Travel Blog in order to raise your profile, please contact us.

The post Hiking the Nakasendo Trail and staying at a Japanese ryokan appeared first on Tripstations.

from Tripstations http://bit.ly/2IkwOkH via IFTTT

#IFTTT #Tripstations

0 notes

transcendragon · 6 years

Text

Prompt: He had been rich all his life. He didn’t know any other way. Staring down at his dirty hands, he wondered how his life had gone to hell. TW: Violence, capitalism

Joseph Philippe Drint the 3rd was money. He came from money, he was formed by money, and he might as well eat it at the rate he uses money up. He is a sympathetic man to those who did not have money like he did, but only to a point. He has a company to run, a once office supply now everything company he was born to run, and that’s that.

“So, Mr. Joffer, you can see why maintenance will just have to make do with the current budget,” Mr. Drint asks. Well, technically asks. It’s the type of question that ends in a period.

“Well, sir, I just think you should know, the factories might not last that long,” Mr. Joffer, head of those factories that were located in the Northern United States, fumbles out. “I know money’s tight and all but if the machines stop working and stop producing money’s gonna be even tighter.”

“Noted, Mr. Joffer,” Mr. Dent says, “I’m glad you’ve warned me. I’ll keep this in mind and consider our current allocation of funds. I think you’ve said all you wanted to?”

Mr. Joffer did not get where he was by being a particularly brave, idealistic man. He deflates.

“Yes, Mr. Dint,” he says.

“You may go, then,” Mr. Dint commands.

As Mr. Joffer scurries out Mr. Dint keeps his face hard. His face starts twitching as soon he’s alone. Why is everything going so wrong? Yes, his company had more than enough money to sustain itself but they’d stopped expanded. They stopped getting more. They are stagnant. Almost dead.

They need more.

Mr. Dint gets up to pace. What should they do? He’d cut costs. He’d expanded. He feels as though nothing works. The advances made were small, shallow, short. He was supposed to be a success. He was supposed to be memorable.

He suddenly stops, and looks up above his desk. There, beyond his desk on the wall above, is a large portrait of his mother. She sits looking at the camera, knowing, satisfied, confident.

“Wow, you’re Samatha Dint’s son!” He’d heard growing up.

“Young man, your mother revolutionized the business.”

“Well, with a woman like that for a mother success is guaranteed.”

“What’s she like? The woman up top?”

He’d heard it all. This business, the Dint enterprise, had been small before his mother had gotten ahold of it. It been a small company with an older, dwindling consumer base. But she’d changed that, oh yes, she’d changed that. She expanded the business three times its size. Production roared and aggressive advertisement found consumption. She’d made this business worth owning and now it’s his turn.

“My little boy, you’ll do well,” she’d said. She knew. She had taught him and sent him to school, set him up to get a business degree at Harvard. Now he knows all he needs to so why isn’t it working? How could it not work?

He grows and plans.

Outside his office, across the laws of his building and the street not far beyond a construction crew comes.

. . .

Of course, he continues to apply his training. Joshua Dint continues to work, to move money and take ventures. The same frustration remains. He can’t be stuck. He must grow. He must continue. He must be remembered as his mother is.

He is not the only one working. The construction crews stays camped out on the road for the next few weeks. They start with a large metal pole, then they bring in large bolts and sheets of metal and other things. Soon a billboard forms.

On that billboard, three weeks after construction begins, two advertisements come in. One, facing away from the large office building of Dint Enterprises, is for a brand of “testosterone boosters” for men. Side effects are written in small lettering on the bottom. Mr. Dint probably wouldn’t be able to tell you what brand it is, or even maybe what type of product it is, despite often passing it to and from his office.

The other side is for the new everything brand. Stoker Stuff TR has only recently gotten into the national market, and is still working to gain access to the international one. It’s a conglomerate of smaller companies, and it’s headed by Ms. Tammer and Mr. Tammy, a woman and a man who are photogenic enough to pose in all the advertisements. One large picture of them captures this building, holding a few miscellaneous things. “The Things From Tammer and Tammy are The Things To Get!” it proclaims, and in even larger letters “BUY STOKER STUFF”. It is a very large billboard.

This sign of new competition is visible even from the Dint building. It is visible from Mr. Dint’s office. He promptly gets curtains.

He still knows that it’s there though. He barely glances at it, spends most of his time deliberately looking away, but he could still draw a good rough approximation of the advertisement from memory at gunpoint.

Right now, he is very deliberately looking Mr. Joffer.

“I mean, I want it in the record that I said this might happen,” Mr. Joffer says, “I said it might happen and it has and we just gotta keep going forward sir. Now, we can get the Southside factory fixed in a few weeks, I’m hoping you can handle the press snapping at our heels (at least nobody died, they’d have fallen on us like rabid wolves) and I was hoping you’d increase our maintenance budget now, sir-”

“No.” Mr. Dint interrupts.

“Well, sir, that’s up to you but if you don’t this may happen agai-”

“No, it won’t,” Mr. Dint again stops Mr. Joffer, and this time he stands. Mr. Joffer moves uncomfortably in his seat, wondering if he should to, but in the end stays where he is.

“This company is on an upturn, Mr. Joffer,” Mr. Dint says calmly.

“Well, I know that, sir, profits have been on a rise for-” Mr. Joffer jumps in and gets bowled right over.

“We have experience some minor difficulties,” Mr. Dint continues without regard for Mr. Joffer, “But things will pick up again. This company is great, and this company shall be greater. We are on the rise, Mr. Joffer, and I have to spend accordingly. There must be money for our new ventures. We have experienced minor difficulties, but-” Here Mr. Dint pulls open his curtains a crack and peers out, “They will be gone soon. It will be smooth sailing Mr, Joffer, smooth sailing.”

“Alright, sir,” Mr. Joffer gives up.

“You may leave now, Mr. Joffer,” Dint orders, “I need to make a call.”

. . .

“We’re so happy that you’ve decided to reach out, Mr. Dint,” Ms.Tammer says, bright and plastic with her smile.

“We really think this will be good for both of our businesses,” Mr. Tammy adds with equal fake cheer.

“I’m so glad you think so,” Mr. says, stiff in comparison as he reaches down to put his briefcase out in front of him.

“We think merging our businesses at this juncture may not be the right move, but creating connections is something we’re all-”

Mr. Dint had gotten his gun out of his bag as Mr. Tammy spoke. He hadn’t even noticed.

Ms. Tammer follows soon after. They’d been so close, the blood flecks dot Dint’s fingers. He had been rich all his life. He didn’t know any other way. Staring down at his dirty hands, he wonders how his life had gone to hell. No matter.

He thinks as he stares at his hands, at the bright contrast between pale skin and blood. It’s almost modern art.

Mr. Dint has gotten the obstacle out of the way of the company. He’d given to the company, he’d increased the company. He’d done even more than his mother. He’d be remembered for longer.

He could give only a little more.

. . .

“I’m glad he just didn’t get fired,” Ms. Joffer tells her friend, “I’m doing better, but I’m not really at a point in my career where I can support us both.”

“Oh, you’ll get there,” Ms. Jones reassures her, “But what happened?” “Haven’t you heard?” Ms. Joffer asks, “It’s been just all over the news. Mr. Dint head of the company, went over and murdered a couple members of the leading competition! Then he goes and offs himself.”

“Really?” Ms. Jones gasps, “Was the company going to go bankrupt, or something?” “No, that’s the thing,” Ms. Joffer leans forward to deliver these juicy details, “The company had been on the rise! Expanding into more foreign markets, production going up- there’s been that scandal with the factory explosion, but it wasn’t even a major setback for such a big company! They don’t even really know why he did it.”

“Gosh,” Ms. Jones leans back, shocked by how a man may waste his life like that.

#short fiction #prompt writing #original fiction #original writing #just posting all the little stories i've never known what to do with #queue should see this

0 notes