A day late but we're here, my little cheeto eaters! Remember as always to grab your bingo cards and let's get our little long weekend slumber party going. This whole fucking thing is FORTY MINUTES LONG, you're all lucky that my sibling who was supposed to spend the day chilling at my place has apparently forgotten that plan.
​

• There's a new opening style than all her other vlogs. Not sure if that's because of Morgan but also I don't care enough to go hunt down exactly which influencer she cribbed this style from. It features a lot of horse butts. Also her using her phone in bed, which I thought she didn't do because she's mindful.
  • The music she uses is this song, which is DEFINITELY not copyright-free, so have fun learning how actual copyright law works, Paige! The lyrics playing over the are "there are times when/it feels right to/run away, run away/when you ask the same old questions/every day, every day/Why do I set the stage?/Why do I find my place on the pedestal?", because I guess Paige went to the Love is Blind school of "make sure the lyrics of whatever song you use are really, REALLY literal"
• Giveaway winners! Congrats to the three people who won a pile of Paige's old garbage! Don't worry though, if you didn't win her trash, she'll be doing a lot more of these because she "appreciates [us] guys so much" and "wants us to experience some of the things that I'm so grateful to get".
  • Nothing says grateful like giving away your extras to strangers and instead of doing anything to promote them like you were supposed to in return for getting them for free, using the existence of this stuff as a way to leverage yourself up on the algorithm.
    • There's also Dairy Boy in the giveaways, of course, because no one's buying it organically.
• She explains moving Louie, it's the same stuff she said on Instagram. Weirdly horses are like the only animal I've never gotten super obsessed with, so I have no idea how BS this is, but it's almost word-for-word her IG explanation, so it's the same level of BS that was. She does word this though as it being a "charity project" and "passion project" she "donated to", because there was a dearth I guess of places to keep your horse in the rich people part of Connecticut.
  • She has to first run to get a grazing muzzle so Louie doesn't overeat in the pasture. This sets off my internal bad animal treatment alarms in a huge way, but again, don't know enough about horses to know if this is warranted.
• Just kidding! Don't let Paige into a Tractor Supply unsupervised, she's too much of a ~country girl~ to not come out with "so much shit". She also got this beef jerky that looked "so good". It's Iowa Smokehouse beef jerky.
  • It apparently looked good because all she had for breakfast was coffee. Why she only had coffee I'm not sure, since it's not like she didn't have the time to get something better. Coffee and beef jerky for breakfast sure is a choice, and one I'm sure her intestines didn't make her pay for later. This summer is all about ~hot girl indigestion~.
  • Story time! This looks like "legit, real beef jerky", which Paige knows because when Paige was in boarding school she stayed with a family who had a lot of cows and they made their own beef jerky, which Paige was of course intimately involved in, I'm sure. Anyway this makes her have such high standards, which is why she loves when somewhere like Tractor Supply (an enormous fucking chain, Paige) or a "local country mart" sells jerky because it's always better.
    • Fun fact that took me less than thirty seconds to Google, this "real" beef jerky is also available on Amazon
• More of the same definitely not copyrighted song as she packs up Louie's stuff and moves him. There's a lot of woman laughing alone with salad shots as she packs up and pretends to talk to... someone and "carry stuff" (ie: stand around touching her own body awkwardly)
• Some weird things about this whole sequence - 1) the "farm" she moves Louie to appears to have very poor, dilapidated fencing, red flag for me. 2) Paige is wearing a white shirt and then a white cardigan the entire time while DEALING WITH A HORSE and it never gets stained or dirty, which tells me she did fuck all, 3) the only guy with her is this big bald much older man who I assume is the guy starting this venture, meaning he's almost certainly who films her cantering around on Louie without her wearing a helmet laughing, which is so unbearably awkward. Like imagine asking a random older dude to film you doing that in a pure white sweater, 4) when Paige brushes Louie he sheds SO MUCH. Is that bad? It feels bad. When a dog sheds that much, even in the spring, it usually means no one's been brushing it regularly, 5) Louie has such a dip in his back and it makes me wince every time, especially when Paige shows him next to another horse. I don't know what that's from, but I hate it and it doesn't look comfortable for him.
• Nance and Baloo are at home when Paige gets back so she's just going to "throw on a little outfit" and they're going to go out for Mother's Day in Brooklyn. Paige really, really didn't want to go into the city because I guess she's suuuuch a country girl (nice, Paige) but she's doing it for her mom and to see her sister
  • Oh my god she DOESN'T CHANGE HER SHIRT FROM THE BARN, she wears a white henley, what look like blue pajama pants, and a leather coat.
  • Nance steals some of Paige's clothes (how I don't know since they're totally different sizes) and according to Paige is"slaying the boots", a phrase I will pay actual cash money to never hear Paige say again
• Next morning, return of the out of focus camera, though it may have been by accident this time because it stays out of focus. Anyway serious business Paige with her serious business glasses is starting the day with some "desk work". Is that a thing? A phrase? What the fuck is "desk work"? Has anyone who actually does work at a desk ever called it that?
  • When she's in Europe it's definitely harder for her to sit and do computer work even though she has a laptop but starting the day on her desktop at the same time as her "whole team" (WHO) it really makes a difference for them being all on the same page.
    • Okay so my actual job in real life is doing shipping and order management for a small creative goods company. I know very intimately what goes into product development, order fulfillment, etc, and Paige is just straight up saying nonsense. Like I paused and gave serious thought to what possibly she could be talking about, and I don't know what all this "work" is. If she was making everything in-house that's one thing, but that's not work she could possibly be doing or overseeing from Europe. But if she's outsourcing stuff, having it sent to a warehouse, and, then paying someone to ship it out for her, I guess she's doing... development? But that makes no sense because again, she outsources everything. She isn't doing wholesale, there isn't a lot to arrange for pop-ups if everything is outsourced and pre-made and she's only supposedly having one this summer, she only has eight products so the website maintenance is pretty easy, as is accounting, and she only really sells stuff around a drop which she does maybe twice a year.......... like genuinely I'm baffled here. It's my job to do this exact same thing every day with products that aren't jeans or sweatshirts or whatever and I'm so, confused about what her "work" is.
    • Allegedly they're on the "final push" for so many big projects and you know what, if any of these projects involve Paige actually doing anything besides feeling three different samples of denim swatches or deciding which vendor she's going to outsource oven mitts to and saying "I like this" or "I don't like that", I will issue her an apology. I feel safe in the idea that I won't have to issue her an apology, but I will keep on on offer in the off-chance I'm wrong.
    • She just finished making a line sheet (genuine lol once I looked up what that was) and apparently we are going to freeeeak out when we see her new merch - sorry, elevated lifstyle products.
    • It's denim. She's been working on denim. She shows us the final washes but it's in direct sunlight so it's all blown out and out of focus so they look mostly white? But she got the "perfect color". IDK, it's a light wash. I prefer dark wash, actually. It's a lot more flattering and forgiving. But we've already determined my aesthetic and Paige's aesthetic are not the same aesthetic. She's nobly pushed back production six months because she refused to do a full run unless the wash was absolutely perfect. It was so expensive but she needed to love love love the denim, because it's really what she's passionate about and what she wants to do, she wants to be the best denim brand out there. You know, because she's hand-making this denim herself, not just sending instructions to low-wage Chinese workers while being afforded the privilege to fuss over the perceived quality for six months because she has parents who are willing to flush money down the toilet on this. Also, for the record, but denim is like... a choice? Like what is the vision, exactly, because every clothing retailer has some version of denim and people are already super married to their faves, so how exactly is this business model working for her, here. And it doesn't look like stretch denim either, which means it's going to fit a very, very narrow group of body types. Like speaking from ample experience crying in GAP dressing rooms over my "freakish" (read, not built like a popsicle stick) as a teenager in a time before jeggings, jeans are not forgiving and easily worn by everyone. The thing about what Paige is doing so far is that it's universal enough. You don't have to really tailor an oversized sweatshirt or trucker hat to fit you. Everyone can make room for another overpriced candle. But denim??? IDK girl, you do you.
• Paige makes Olivia a latte. Olivia comes in and say it's story time about coffee. Paige asks if she should turn off the camera for this and Olivia says no so Paige continues to film herself preening while Olivia tells her a story about how messy she is frothing milk. Paige spends the entire time interrupting her to go "no! No! No! No!"
  • They look at buttons and rivets and embossed leather patches for the back, and then sweatpants leg panel samples. Baloo hangs out with them and Paige tells him he's stinky. She eats toast.
    • WHAT IS THE POINT OF ANY OF THIS. She's not DESIGNING anything, she's just doing that thing like, you know when you're choosing your racer in Mario Kart and there are a couple hundred variations of wheels and chassis and you just choose the unique combos you want to put together? She's doing that but with generic clothing. I've been jokingly referring to her stuff as "elevated Zazzle" but this isn't even Zazzle because Zazzle you UPLOAD ACTUAL ARTWORK TO. Why is she re-inventing the wheel? What improvements does she think she's making TO A PROVERBIAL WHEEL.
• Not sponsored showing off gifting time! It's not in focus at all so we can't really see any of the products (professional!). One of the products she mentions is that she's friends with CYNTHIA ROWLEY'S DAUGHTER who has nepo baby'd her way into dropping oven mitts and aprons that look like Strawberry Shortcake's rejects. Like they're cute, but they're again little strawberries on white. Like tell me none of you silver spoon-ass bitches cook without telling me by making WHITE OVEN MITTS. Those will turn yellowish and burnt after, what a single batch of brownies? Taking a piece of toast out?
  • This haul includes her tennis Tommy bag. Not sure how she got it since she brags about it being "sold out everywhere even Poshmark and depop"
  • There is sooooooo much of this free bullshit. How does she even get this much free bullshit. Why do companies waste so much money sending this to people like Paige who don't fucking care and openly give it away. What is the point of an influencer. IDK at this point I'm spiraling, this vlog is like a third of the way through and nothing has happened.
• Paige unpacks with Nance. She has so many clothes and I don't think she's worn any of them. Full disclosure that this was the point I actually got annoyed and had to take a break and play some video games for fifteen minutes because while growing up comfortably or on the upper end of middle class in a generational wealth type of town has taught me a lot of patience for people with too much money, there is at some point a limit to how conspicuous over-consumption and waste I can handle, and that point for me came when I saw how many sweaters Paige has that look like they've never been worn. And the on top of this she has a giant suitcase of stuff she's going to depop! The environment? Never heard of her.
• Paige is going to get groceries. She's needed Nance's help to do all the hard stuff she's had to do today like going grocery shopping and having soooo many clothes. She goes to Trader Joe's, then goes to a horse shop and of course buys MORE SHIT SHE DOESN'T NEED. I'm not condoning what the French did when they invented the guillotine, like that was really violent and horrible, but the point is that the longer I watch this vlog the more I'm understanding their motivations.
• Paige goes on a sunset ride with her friend Lauren, this song plays in the background as a flagrant copyright violation, I realize at this point that there's no way this video is going to stay up without Youtube copyright striking it so I have to be extra detailed for posterity and we still have so much to go and this is going to take forever. Louie's back still looks horrible and as someone with inherited lordosis, I feel for him.
• Tommy facetime! He says exactly one sentence and catches a tiny fish, for those of you keeping track on your Bingo cards.
• Nance is still over Paige's house when Paige gets back because she never leaves. Paige is wearing old Dairy Boy sweats. At this point when I scrolled down to press the play button again I realized that Nance has posted a comment about how proud she is of Paige within seconds of the video being uploaded. I live with my mother and sometimes I still need her help on stuff like yelling at health insurance until they cover stuff for me and even I am confused by how codependent their relationship is. Like doesn't Nance have her own house? A husband? Other children? Paige has spent this entire vlog needing Nance's help to do everything from grocery shopping to folding laundry and acting like a teenager. It's a rich text for a therapist to one day unpack.
  • It's Taco Monday, this is just a dumb and boring version of Paige performing the white people taco night song. Also bewildering, Paige seemingly DOES NOT KNOW HOW TO MAKE TACO STUFF. It involves almost no cooking! She even bought the spices pre-packaged! She needs Nance's help on this too!
  • Undisclosed new cooking knife brand product placement. They are amazed that it............slices.
    • OH NO SHE SAYS SLAYING WITH BOOTS AGAIN ABOUT THE KNIFE END THIS MISERY
  • Ahahhahah the reason they're so impressed is because they've apparently been cooking with unsharpened knives. Like Paige didn't know you could sharpen knives. A master chef, ladies and gentlemen!
• Oh god we're only halfway through. Paige wakes up the next morning. She got so freckly yesterday (read: she's courting melanoma and is going to age like a raisin). She's going to go play tennis at a club in Greenwich her parents are members at (Note, she shows the logo which means you can spend five seconds googling to discover it's this club. Membership is invite only and it's gauche apparently to discuss how much membership costs, but the estimate is EIGHTY GRAND A YEAR. To be clear, that is nearly THREE TIMES the average American household income. Paige is the child of people who spend more in one year to play tennis a few times a week than most people do getting fucking doctorates, which clears up a few things for me: one, I've never gotten those texts where she casually demands Morgan Wallen pay her back tens of thousands of dollars like it's $50, but I guess to her it is like $50, and two, why everything about Paige and how she acts towards people and money in this video is a million times more effective at radicalizing people on economic policy than anything Bernie Sanders has ever lain awake at night dreaming of.
  • Camera going in and out of focus during this explanation.
  • Ah she's doing it with her mom. Again. Heaven forbid Paige breathe without Nance.
  • Oh also she has to shoot an ad in the tennis dress, but she definitely likes and would go to play tennis anyway.
• More unboxing undisclosed adver- I mean PR.
  • I'm so serious, tthe flagrant wealth being thrown around in this video and the amount of free stuff a trust fund baby with absolutely no merits or skills whatsoever is getting because she has 300K followers on Instagram that she probably bought half of is like the best argument for socialism I have ever seen.
• .Paige gets dressed in the third outfit of the day to go to the dentist. The pants are pointedly too big on her so they don't stay up in the waist and create this weird enormous kangaroo pouch around her crotch. She pairs that with a toddler sized medium t-shirt for a football team she's probably never heard of, a choker that looks like something a boy band member in the early 2000's would wear but out of fake pearls, and cowboy boots. It's... the look sure is looking, let's just say that.
• Paige opines on how much she prefers to do vlogs at home, but don't worry, she won't stop doing travel vlogs for us! (Oh thank goodness, where would we be without the insights we get from them.) She feels like they add variety to her channel (what, no, we LOVE coming with you to the barn to watch you ride without a helmet over unsourced music! five times a vlog!). Sometimes she feels like there's this pressure to show us as much as she can, which explains why all we see in her travel vlogs is hotel room bathrooms, tennis matches, and the tops of various tabletops in restaurants. Anyway she feels like there's pressure because in reality she's there for Tommy. Which we KNOW, that's the entire PROBLEM, Paige. If you were HONEST about the fact that being a WAG on tour sucks and you don't get to actually see the places you're pretending to really go and immerse yourself in, we WOULD HAVE FEWER COMPLAINTS AND YOU'D FEEL LESS ANXIETY, the problem is that you have to keep compulsively lying about how cultured you are and how you really ~got a feel~ for the location. Just stop lying!!! Stop!!! Lying!!! Challenge!!!!! The anxiety you feel and the reason you have to monitor this subreddit comes from your CONSTANT LYING.
  • Ugh she would NEVER have gone to ROME if it weren't for Tommy. I think this is a ploy for authenticity but boy is it coming across as privileged.
    • I do think in her own Paige way though this entire monologue she has is about something I've noticed her talking around a lot - I think she's afraid if she stops travelling and being a WAG no one will care about her. I think she's terrified of doing what makes her happy, which is being home, hanging out with her mom, riding her horses, and spending her parents' money. But if she just let herself do the things she actually liked and stopped trying to always pretend to be cooler and more interesting than she is, no one would keep paying attention to her, because it's not like she has a sparkling personality or wit or unique point of view. Like I'm an interesting person to talk to, but if I tried to make a vlog of my life it would be pretty boring. I work a 9-5 M-F job and the most interesting part of my life is when I go to a concert or craft fair on the weekend or one of my neighbors goes out of town and I watch their cat. It's not riveting, but I also don't need to be doing fascinating things in order to be or feel like an interesting person. But people like Paige who need to always be travelling and going to events and flaunting how busy they are are often really sad and empty people. They're not doing any of the little mundane things that make people happy and spending time connecting with the people around them, they're just always moving around because they're afraid if they stop for five seconds, people will see that the only thing they have going for them is all that movement and travelling. I think Paige is constantly torn between the anxiety that comes with constant travel and isolation and putting herself on display and removing herself from the things that bring her a sense of calm and security, and the anxiety that if she allows herself to feel calm and secure, she'll lose the attention she craves. IDK seems like a thing she shouldn't keep indirectly admitting to in vlogs, seems to kind of undercut half of her material, but what do I know.
  • Also she really is going to positively contribute to Tommy and his life and career, ie: she needs to go home and feels comforted by home because that's where her mom and Amanda wait on her hand and foot and everything is about her, which she misses when she's with Tommy because when she's on tour with Tommy she has to accept that he's the center of attention and she's not.
  • Her home vlogs have been performing the best, like, significantly. Since she probably buys views and comments, this just means she likes them better and therefore buys more engagement for them.
  • Apparently her analytics are telling her that 30% of her views are coming from the "explore" feature, which she says is YouTube rewarding her for being consistent, and, uh. No. Not how that works.
    • I mean yes if you buy engagement it will put you in the algorithm more, but this is the time in the video where she accidentally self-owns. If you're an actual channel getting actual views from people who actually enjoy watching you, then VERY LITTLE of your viewership should be coming from the "explore" feature, MOST of it should be coming from subscribers or regular viewers or people who watch similar content. That's how the majority of people watch YouTube or find new videos to watch. But if fully a third of your viewers are coming from what's essentially a randomizer button, that pretty much confirms Paige is buying views and/or that a lot of viewers leave after a minute or two. Because if her content was good on its own, people would see it and subscribe, and then she wouldn't need to rely on the "explore" feature. But if she, as she says, is consistently getting a third of her viewership from that feature, than that means that a third of people are just randomly watching whatever YouTube puts in front of them and not engaging with her at all, meaning the ONLY POSSIBLE explanation is that she's essentially buying enough engagement to keep appearing on the explore page, but buying the opportunity to be put in front of people isn't actually getting her a larger audience because what she's serving them is a warmed-over turd.
  • Anyway Paige is counting on you not knowing the extreme basics and trusting that she "knows someone who used to work at YouTube who told her that's how the algorithm works"
    • Um if you don't know about social media - no one who works at YouTube or any social media company knows how their algorithm works unless they're the ones writing it, and if they do know, they're not going to tell you because that's extremely valuable, proprietary information and also there's like a lot of papers and NDAs and non-competes they'd be breaking if they did. They're telling you to upload consistently because it's good FOR THE MEDIA COMPANY. The company is trading in being a content hub, so they need people to consistently be uploading content, ie: raising the value of their site in a way they don't have to pay for. That's the entire business model of every. Single. Digital media platform. Heck, that's how most dating apps work too. The product is data. They want you to be giving them free product.
  • "I don't know, like I don't like doing things just for social media anymore?" HAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAH
    • And a week later you spent a weekend attending influencer parties in the Hamptons for....... what exactly. The scintillating conversation?????
    • She's very quick to say that's not the case if she has to shoot an ad! Loves shooting ads! Please keep sending her free stuff!
    • God this is taking me multiple hours but at this point I've sunk too much time in and also am convinced this won't stay up for copyright issues, so I'm taking a break to like, stretch and clean the bathroom, anything to get me moving and listening to my own thoughts which are in complete sentences.
• I'm back after cleaning the bathroom. I've been at this so long that my sibling has shown up. But I only have ten minutes to go and I REFUSE TO GIVE UP. This whole completely unhinged and unintentionally revealing rant has approximately a trillion uses of the word "like" is from 21:00 to 26:00 and if you want to watch it you can. I probably should have transcribed it for a full AP Lit level analysis, but I'm tired. If we're lucky, when Paige tries to re-upload this with copyright-free music, she'll have kept that in there.
• Paige ordered a shed! She's so excited!
• The fence looks mildly less jacked up when they go back. Paige is brushing Louie constantly in this video. Fourth time I think we've seen her do this. I feel like there's a lot more to horse care than brushing them and she only shows us this part because it looks aesthetic and she doesn't do any of the actual hard or necessary parts like shoveling horse shit, but what do I know.
  • This sequence uses unsourced but definitely copyright song number three!
  • Fun fact: Paige is the same fake brown color as Louie's dappled neck. Aw, you know how pets eventually look like their owners? Cute.
  • Shout out to Paige's friend (perhaps Amanda? Olivia? Can't keep the preppy brunettes straight anymore) who actually wears a helmet riding.
• Next day, we open with a bit of this song (not sourced, copyright infringement number four, possibly more that at this point I no longer notice tbh). Paige puts on boots to go to the new shed and realizes the vlog is going to be so long because she's never done a whole week at a time before. Because I've made it this far, I'm the best. (Aw.)
  • Paige calls Tommy to wish him happy birthday and films it, which seems... odd. Especially since she doesn't film it in a way where he can see she's filming.
  • Paige gets tea for breakfast (nutritious) and a coffee for the guy at the barn we must have seen earlier. His name is Aaron. I could do some google sleuthing and find him probably, but I don't care. Paige met him going on trail rides at her old barn. Do middle aged men usually hang out at barns doing trail rides? Just scoping out young idiots with disposable income? The whole thing seems sus. Apparently he has like seven kids.
  • Paige never realized how expensive pre-made sheds were, but it's a local business that makes it by hand! I assume the local business is called Costco And Sons.
  • More uncredited The Shins plays as Paige only loads the shed with blankets and nothing heavy or unpicturesque.
  • Another Tractor Supply run, at this point they're who really should be sponsoring Paige
  • Paige goes to say goodbye to Louie and he HIDES FROM HER IN THE WOODS
    • Girl.
    • Oh my god no wonder he's mad at her, they've been staying somewhere WITHOUT A STRUCTURE. He's been sleeping OUTSIDE. It got into the 40's every night in New England last week!!!
• Out of focus Paige talking about how she had suuuuuch a long day "running errands". Olivia didn't get to join Paige on her little horse girl excursions because she had to be at the warehouse and onboarding a new DB employee. Anyway Paloma is in town now
  • Paige learns that apparently you're supposed to be washing veggies as she prepares things to grill. PAIGE HAS BEEN COOKING THIS WHOLE TIME NOT WASHING VEGGIES. I.......... I am going to need to be sedated after this.
• Paige exfoliates and puts on a definitely not sponsored face mask
  • She's wearing skiing pajamas. In case we forgot she was a skier. Did you know she was a skier????
    • PSYCH, these are from previous ads with PJ Place but actually she really likes these and this one ISN'T an ad she just loves the product so much
• Paige is doing her makeup! We're at the end stretch! I'm almost there!
  • She took a day off of vlogging to go see her grandparents, but immediately segues into her Ulta trip. Because of her stupid grandparents, she didn't get to go to the barn, frankly how can she survive in these conditions.
  • Dairy Boy phone case plug! She was soooo specific about what she likes in phone cases and definitely didn't just choose between Zazzle, Redbubble, or (insert other brand here)
    • It's a shitty thin cover that looks like it protects your phone from approximately nothing and should cost $10 but I estimate she'll sell it for at least $40
    • Of course because Paige was so super particular about the details and business-minded when it comes to quality it took a long time to make........phone cases.......
  • Tommy calls and says hi
  • Paige rambles about her day and makes coffee. Tommy sent her peonies because he's "so cute". We see the phone cases and they're weird and ugly. More "gifting" (undisclosed advertising) that came in the mail
• Paige makes pickled red onions, every time she does it she changes the recipe a little bit even though she totally has a recipe and isn't googling. She starts pickling carrots which she says are going to "go bad soon" (that takes like six months, how do carrots even go bad?) She also does it in a water glass which, good luck ever drinking from that again without it tasting like vinegar.
• And then with no warning, it cuts off. That took me three and a half hours. It's been a journey and I hate it. If there is ever a vlog this long, I'm doing it in segments across multiple days because I'm exhausted by this much wealth and inanity. Time to go touch grass, start dinner, wash my vegetables before I do so. You know. The little things.

Credit to u/SpacePaladin15
Memory transcription subject: Salvek, Human-Venlil Exchange Program Candidate
Date [standardized human time]: September 3, 2136
I hate banks. Or, more specifically, I hate the United Banking Service. I've never really used another bank, on account of my mother signing me up for a twenty-five year family plan for a cash bonus that never came (it was twenty-five thousand credits, I can't really blame her) but that just makes me hate this one more.
The fat, lazy Gojid on the other side of the bulletproof glass teller window tapped away at his keyboard in order to process my application for a loan. Above him I saw the UBS logo and motto: "Speed, Security, Success." All a load of vyalpic if you ask me. (I will die of old age before this loan ever comes through)
"Sooooo....." Thank the Herd, he was finally talking. I was worried his fat ass had a heart attack and died with how little moving he did. "Your credit score issss....." Oh Protector, just spit it out already! Now I get why predators have such violent impulses. (What if I can't control mine? What if we're worse than them?)
Brahk my intrusive thoughts. How does Jack control his so well? I resolved to ask him when my loan got processed, assuming neither of us starved to death in the meantime. (Speed, security, and success this dick)
"Seven hundred and ninety." Oh, thank Inatala. (Inatala hates predators, can I still say that with one as my best friend?) Venlil credit scores go from zero, being applied to people who took out million-credit loans and blew all the money on gear to unsuccessfully rob the bank they got the loan from, to one thousand, which went to those who panicked over a two credit overdrawn balance and had a heart attack whenever they were a week away from a loan's due date and it still wasn't paid.
Seven hundred and ninety was above average, since my parents had always taught me to manage my finances well, but only slightly above average since Jack's presence and the constant racism that came with it were more trouble than the government stipend was worth. (I would never send him back home, he's better to me than many Venlil)
I thanked the Gojid with sincerity that I meant none of, and asked "Is my loan approved?"
He told me "Yes, it's been approved at..." Oh Herd, not this again. How do his coworkers interact with him? "5% quarterly interest." That's not even bad. (Five percent might be a robbery, but for UBS banks it's decent) "You'll have six months to pay it off in full... or the interest will double every quarter." (Somebody should disband the United Banking Service)
I agreed to these terms, since they were the best I was going to get, and left without another word. Eight thousand Federation credits had just entered my bank account, making me a very rich man. (Not really, but it was the most I'd ever had)
Jack was sitting on a bench outside the UBS building tapping away on his pad. A more skittish Venlil would have assumed that he was plotting something or bathing in the virtual blood of his prey, but I knew better than to assume the game he was playing was predatory.
Never mind, it was absolutely predatory. An army of huge winged beasts descended on what looked like a walled fortress in the middle of a hellish landscape, and lightning rained down from the skies at Jack's command to pick apart what I assumed were strategic defenses. (He might not actively do predator things, but he is excellent at them)
Within thirty ticks of the timer at the top of the screen, the beasts were above the fortress raining destruction on whatever they pleased. A few soldiers ran out of a building near the center of the base, attacking Jack's army, but they were quickly dealt with. Without the defenses that were destroyed by what I assumed was orbital bombardment, the base was helpless against the conquering predator.
A chill ran down my spine as I saw the defenders being slaughtered. A Venlil general or admiral (there were actually surprisingly many when compared to the rest of our military) could accomplish such results but those types of Venlil were very few and often had mild cases of Predator Disease. (That needs a new name. Maybe Arxur disease? No, too scary)
Seeing an average human, whose only military experience was four years serving on a war boat (They still have a boat military? Herd, those predators love their weapons) complete what many Federation officers would struggle to do terrified me for good reason.
We Venlil had treated Humans like they weren't even sapient, just dirt or pests that we had to tolerate. And the rest of the Federation treated them even worse. What if they decided peace wasn't worth it? What if, in our fear of the Arxur, we unleashed a threat worse than them? (Could Jack spare me from a human cattle farm? I'd have to kill myself if he couldn't)
Venlil Prime would be the first world to fall. We'd all die of our own hubris.
"Hell!" Jack turned his pad down so I couldn't look over his shoulder anymore. "I'm sorry you had to see that." Why did he have to be sorry for everything? The way my species, my Federation, treated him and his kind always angered me.
I told him "Don't be sorry. It's not your fault your hobbies are so... you know." I didn't like using the word "predator". At least, not to describe humans. Jack was cool with me using it as long as it wasn't in a derogatory way, (since they are predators) but it just reminded me of how unjustly he and his kind were treated.
Jack clearly didn't listen when I said not to be sorry because he kept apologizing. "Yeah, but it's not your fault you're so damn skittish either. And it is my fault I played Clash... I mean the game here. I should've known better." Herd, why did he never stand up for himself? The exterminators can't be that bad!
I explained to him "You don't have to apologize, Jack. You never meant to scare anyone." and before he could keep apologizing (I know him too well to think he wouldn't) I changed the subject. "We have money at our disposal now, we can buy something from the Mellow Firefruit on our way to the train station."
Jack agreed, but he was worried about "spacists". (Oh Herd, has he lost it?) I asked "What in the Arbor is a spacist?" In case you don't know, the Arbor is where followers of the Great Protector go when they die. It's a huge forest with plentiful and delicious food, and no predators.
When I finally mustered up my courage and told Jack that the god I worship hates his kind, I was half expecting to die horribly by his unusually short claws or extremely dull fangs. (Are they so peaceful because of their lack of natural weapons, or do they lack natural weapons because they're so peaceful? I should ask Jack that)
Instead, he shrugged it off and told me that, apparently, "Jesus still solos." When I explained the Arbor at his request, he had the brilliant idea to convert to worshiping the Protector and then kill himself in order to appear there and scare the afterlife out of everyone else. He quickly and profusely explained that he would never actually do that, but Inatala would never have accepted him anyway so it didn't matter.
Anyway, back to real life. Jack told me "Oh, spacists? They're just space racists except I mushed the two words together. It's a play on words type thing." The words 'space' and 'racists' do not fit together in Venlilese, and frankly, I was astounded that the translator even gave me the concept. (I bought it second-hand from a Mazic who stepped on it one too many times, but it was incredibly cheap)
I told him "If you told anyone but me that the words 'space' and 'racists' fit together then you would be screened for Predator Disease." and he covered his mouth in the gesture that was universally recognized as a prey-safe predator's laugh.
"God, sometimes I forget you guys have a sense of humor."
Just then, I started walking. I was tired, like any Venlil would be after a long walk, a long wait in line and the anticipation of another long walk, but the thought of the sweet, delicious food at the Mellow Firefruit kept me going. (I have to get Jack some, he's been underrating Venlil cuisine ever since he first tried my subpar cooking)
Jack fell in behind me, then he moved up to be at my side as an equal. Us Venlil didn't care where you were in line, but I guess predators have different priorities. (Is thinking 'predator' as bad as saying it? That's a dilemma I need to deal with later) I asked him "How come your claws and... uh... those pointy front teeth are so small?" (I don't like talking about fangs, sue me)
Jack turned to look at me, jerked his head away a little, then he turned and looked at me again. He responded to my question, realized I was a Venlil, and realized I was Salvek, in that order. I was good at reading people. He told me "First of all, they're called nails and canines. And second of all, we've never needed claws so they never evolved." A predator never needing claws was absurd! When would Jack learn that he didn't have to lie to me?
I interrupted my friend's explanation by telling him "Jack, I'm not going to run away or faint just because you tell me that ancient humans hunted. I get it. Just tell me how you lost your claws."
Jack sighed. He didn't sigh a lot, only when he was driven to the end of his very long rope (Turns out that's a human idiom too! Who knew?) by someone else's, usually my, stupidity. "Salvek, we didn't lose them. We evolved to eat fruit from trees, and by the time we were eating meat we had at least developed the art of throwing rocks at things. There was never any need for them, and they never appeared as a result. Satisfied?"
Developing weapons early on did make sense for humans, given how good they are at combat, so I nodded. It wasn't really a Venlil expression, but those in the exchange program had learned everything they could about their human partners. (I'm saying human instead of predator! Progress!) "Yeah, that makes sense."
Jack continued, explaining about human 'canines'. We just called them fangs. "Canines were originally fangs, yeah," He lowered his voice when he mentioned fangs. "but when we made fire around a million years ago, we didn't need them anymore and so they got smaller. I'm no expert, but that's what I know."
That actually made sense. I knew the Arxur didn't eat cooked meat, since I found uncensored raid footage on an internet rabbit hole when I was fourteen, (I peed myself and had nightmares for weeks but no one has to know) but I always assumed humans shared that trait. Maybe I was just like the rest with how I kept comparing humans and Arxur. (Why am I capitalizing one and not the other? No one knows!)
Maybe I was just like the rest. Maybe one day I would lose control and run from Jack, or freeze up, or worse, call the exterminators, and then it would all be over. I could never live with myself if my damned instincts got him to hate me or got him killed. I've only known him for a few weeks, but when we met we just clicked.
It's still weird to me how the concept of platonic soul mates doesn't exist yet.
"That's it, right?" Jack asked while pointing to a red restaurant a few blocks away. That was it. I was about to eat good.
"Yeah, that's it. Come on, let's go!" I ran to the Mellow Firefruit faster than most humans could, on account of my species being designed for sprints, (or we're just better than them) and Jack tagged along in a brisk walk. He was probably trying not to be mistaken for chasing me and shot dead, or worse, set on fire.
I know most predators don't feel pain, but humans do. Why in the Herd didn't exterminators at least have the decency to kill them humanely?
A couple seconds later, Jack was waiting outside the restaurant and looking at his pad while I waited in line (In case nobody noticed yet, I hate lines) for my meal. Jack's meal too, since nobody wanted their entire customer base to leave the second they began serving humans. At least, that was the official reason. The real reason is that most Venlil are still racist.
After an agonizing minute and a half of waiting, since the Mellow Firefruit was a popular restaurant (for good reason, as Jack was about to discover) I finally got to order my food. "I'll have two yaccay salads, and two red fires please." Jack only asked for a salad, but red fires were excellent drinks and if he said no to one I would drink both. I was being smart with this.
"Okay, that will be 43.8 credits." All right, maybe not so smart.
I asked "44 credits?" in shock as my mind struggled to wrap itself around this sudden increase in price. The last time I got a meal here it was only twenty credits.
The cashier, a large green Krakotl who was a tiny bit taller than me, explained "Inflation. Those damn predators brahked up the economy and now we have this." Putting hate on my friend Jack wasn't something I would normally tolerate, but my father had always said it wasn't wise to anger the people who made your food. I just swiped my card across his card reader and stayed silent, like dad would have wanted.
"If you ask me, Sovlin was right."
Was my father really that wise? He probably didn't know what he was talking about.
"How can you say that? No one deserves what he did to Marcel." I shot back, managing to contain the venom in my voice.
The cashier retorted "No one sapient. But those... things that Tarva's dumb ass let roam our planet don't qualify." with barely-contained hatred. (Thank the Herd Jack doesn't have to hear this)
Before I could respond, however, the manager came with my order and reprimanded his subordinate. "Don't get into politics with customers, and certainly don't spit those lies in my establishment!" Maybe the Great Protector was still looking out for me.
The manager handed me my items and apologized profusely. "My cashier here is still new to Venlil Prime. He hasn't gotten used to the... the new arrivals yet. Herd, even I struggle sometimes, and I'm in the exchange program!"
I thanked him, explaining that it wasn't a big deal but the cashier should still be reprimanded, and brought our food to Jack. He wasn't playing that predatory (it was predatory, but predatory didn't necessarily mean bad) game again, but he was scrolling through his account on UHerd.
UHerd was the Venlil's main addition to the galaxy at large, being a huge social media service that Jack had described as "just like Instagram." when he first heard of it. Bleat was another large website just like it, but it was much less known than UHerd. (Fun fact: the U stands for Internet! Maybe not in English, but in Venlilese it does)
Jack never posted much, but he had me and a few mutual friends from the Program followed and he liked hearing what we were doing. I plopped down next to him and handed him his food. "Here, I got you something."
He picked up the salad nonchalantly, but when I handed him his drink, he inspected it curiously. "What in God's name is this doohickey?" He asked.
I told him "Try it, it's a red fire. It's good." and he did try it.
Jack exclaimed "Holy christ!" and the look in his eyes was comparable to what I saw the first time I agreed to being pet. "This is heavenly!" He guzzled the spicy fluid with hunger that would have terrified me if I hadn't seen him devour meals a dozen times before, (He'll eat me next I have to run I have to run run run run for it [oh, shut up already]) stopping only to praise its taste. "This is like the nectar of the gods!" Then "Shit, this is what I was missing out on? We gotta desegregate the restaurants immediately!"
That got him thinking, and I could almost see the money-making gears turning in his head. "You know, Salvek, what if we opened up a restaurant? You could be the official owner and waiter, I could cook some delectable earth recipes, and as long as no one saw me, we could make bank!"
I didn't like that idea. It sounded a lot like a recipe for disaster. I told him "Nah, it would be too hard for just the two of us. And besides, we already have the clothing business." Selling shirts online is a lot easier and cheaper than owning a restaurant.
Since Jack asked me a question, I figured I could ask one too. "Hey Jack, do you mind if I ask you a question?"
Jack didn't care, and he told me as much, so I continued. "How do you keep yourself in check all the time? How can humans control themselves so well?"
He paused for a bit, causing me to involuntarily panic, (he's looking for weak points, or exterminators, he's going to snap my neck for this) but I quelled these thoughts and there was no visible change in my expression. Finally, the colossal man spoke. "How do you do it?"
"W-what?" I stammered, and he picked up a leaf that was blowing in the wind before cherishing his last sip of the red fire.
He held the leaf up to my mouth. "How can you resist the temptation to just chow down on every plant you see? It must be exhausting." I took a brief nibble of the plant, despite it being completely unappetizing in nature, and he told me "See? Your herbivore instincts made you eat it! How can you keep them in check all the time?"
I wasn't a fool, not by any means. I knew he was mocking me. But the thought of a predator not having any predatory instincts was an entirely unheard of concept, bordering on heresy for some. It would probably have gotten me screened for Predator Disease if I spoke of it aloud, but I still spoke of it aloud. (There were no exterminators, I was fine) "So you're trying to say that you don't have predatory instincts? But what about the drive to hunt?"
Jack sighed again, muttering "So smart, but so damn stupid." in a low tone before he explained to me exactly what I wanted to know. "We have the need to eat meat in the same way you need to eat plants, because if we don't do it we die." That made sense. "But just like you don't have a primal urge to devour all the greenery in sight, we don't have any instincts of our own. Make sense?"
It did, but I was still struggling to wrap my head around it, so I just nodded and finished off my salad. Jack had apparently forgot about his salad, as he hadn't touched it. He opened the plastic carton, looked at its contents weirdly, and took a bite.
"This is mid." He told me, point blank. "Like, I don't mean to offend anyone, but it is mid. I'm not even hungry."
I was mildly offended, but there wasn't much I could change about his honest opinion, so I just told him "I thought it was good." and left it at that.
Jack slid his salad over to me (I love these things like my only son) and offered "You can have it. I don't want it." I would have accepted, but I wasn't hungry. Jack didn't really mind, so he threw his salad out and told me "Then we should get going. We have only [1/8 of a claw], I mean... 1/8 of a claw before our train leaves."
I agreed, getting up and walking to the train station, and Jack followed. I was well rested by then, so the brief walk was easy. Jack... Jack was Jack. He never got tired.
We actually made a pretty good pace to the train station, and within 1/16 of a claw we were on our way back to my home district and my third-floor apartment. I had money to my name, I had a huge predator (Human! Damn, those words get mixed up too much) friend, and he and I were about to make a truckload of credits. Life was good.
Previous Next comes when I say it comes

Hi! I'm taking my wife to New Orleans for 3 days, road-tripping out of Houston. I've already been compiling a list of great recommendations from this sub (beignets, cajun food, shopping areas, etc) but if anybody has specific recommendations for vegetarian food and drivable destinations they'd be much appreciated!
Staying near Frenchman and Royal.
Veggie Food: I'm an omnivore, wife eats no meat but big yes on eggs and dairy. She doesn't have a hard time finding an item or two on any menu (even bar food), so I'm not necessarily looking for vegetarian restaurants (which are easy to google), but rather great places with vegetarian options (even if it's a small part of the menu). She loves breakfast foods, so big bonus points for great breakfast restaurants, and for bars with an awesome vegetarian dish or two on the menu.
Drivable destinations? We'll of course spend most of our time walking/trolleying, but since I'll have my vehicle with us (already secured safe parking) and we have a full 3 days, I'm also open to anything that might be drivable! We love cultural history, unique shops and restaurants, really anything. I'll be perfectly happy if my vehicle stays in its garage the entire time we're in NOLA, but figured I'd ask anyway if you might have a favorite day trip or outside-the-city point of interest.
I've already googled up some options for our usual activities (antique/curio shops, local history, used book stores, great happy hour deals) but if you've got any personal favorites I'd love to hear those too.
Thanks y'all!

I went to visit my parents for the day, and they offered to buy me lunch. I agreed and they told me they wanted to check out this New Mexican Restaurant. I noticed it was near Target, so when I told them where to go for directions I just said “drive like you’re going to target”. Then my mom said “we don’t go to target anymore, I don’t agree with their choices” and it kind of upset me, so I called off lunch because I wasn’t in the mood and I decided to drive back to my apartment. My mom seemed upset that she knows she said something wrong, and my dad said that I ruined her day.
They don’t know that they have a gay son, I am scared to tell them because they freak out over the smallest things.
I just don’t understand why people give such hate about rainbow capitalism. It doesn’t affect your life, but your hatred affects mine.
Should I just come out now?

Sup everyone,
Someone I (41-M) have met recently had me nearly falling head over heels the moment I met her (39-F). We hit it off almost instantly and started getting to know each other. Let's call her Jessica
Things were admittedly moving fast as we communicated everyday via text and would meet outside of the professional environment.
One day, the company I work for setup a get-together where employees and clients were to meet up and celebrate the new changes in the company. It's a fitness company so it was definitely weird seeing so many people dressed up outside of the typical gym attire
Jessica was also invited in and knew a number of the people working there, and was familiar with some of the clients. I'm a people-person, and quite extroverted, so towards the end when things were getting a bit dull, I started challenging (in a fun way) my fellow colleagues into doing a quick number of difficult moves, everyone laughed, participated and was involved, and it definitely added a layer of fun to the atmosphere
however, one of the many people who responded favorably to the challenges (and did impressively well) was a new employee, let's call her Dominique (42-F). She entered the circle, did impressively well and even got a round of applause. I thanked her (and others) for participating and that was that
well Jessica was FUMING. She walked off silently and was waiting by my car. I eventually join her within a few minutes she had texted me (saying she's leaving) and we head over to a small place to have a drink. Originally I was not aware that she had gotten so mad. In the car on the way to the drink spot, I noticed that she was holding back tears as I ask what's going on
She responds that it was flirting with Dominique and that I was enjoying challenging her. I eventually calm her down and tell her that I was literally speaking to EVERYONE, 0 flirting was involved because many, many people participated and it was just a group challenge
As the days go by, our interactions go pretty well but every now and then she brings back the "flirting" situation to which i immediately shut down.
Well, recently Jessica and I went one a date over to a nice restaurant to celebrate my birthday. Things went extremely well, we discussed about anything and everything, our aspirations and some of our past. She tells met about some people two tables down who happen to be there for a birthday too, I had looked at that direction briefly but couldn't tell who, so I told her that I'd find out later
As we leave the restaurant, we head to an elevator (about 14 floors) Me, Jessica (holding hands) and 2 women (lesbian couple it seemed) (35-F)(35-F) everyone is quiet until one of the women describes enjoying her birthday today, that's when I chime in "Of it's my birthday too! Well Happy birthday" then cracked a stupid birthday joke bland, nothing pertaining to anything personal or alluding to anything. Didn't really think nothing of it.We head to the car, but I notice Jessica being just a tad bit cold and distant. I attributed that to her being sleepy as it was getting late, and I drop her off home. The same night, I thank her for being there during such a special day, she's all lovey dovey via text as well. Almost 2 days go by where we still converse almost every hour with issues it seems. She was looking for a job near her home and was getting a bit antsy about how to go about it, and I could tell she was getting frustrated
well well well... this is when things take a turn
all of a sudden out of the blue (from my perspective) she sends me a paragraph saying that she hates me, that I look for opportunities to flirt with other women, that I pretended to care about her, that she should have left me when I "flirted with Dominique" "you are not the type of man I thought you were" and blocked me from everywhere
Looking back I also remember when I almost had a grocery kart collision with some lady who was walking down the opposite isle, and I politely said "sorry" with a smile, I turned back to Jessica to laugh at the situation but noticed her face briefly displaying anger... i didn't think much of it but made a mental checkpoint
Was my behavior flirtatious? She had admitted after the 1st situation that she can be very jealous so I'm wondering if that has any influence on it
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TL;DR: Girl that I met and hit it off immediately, but after about 2-3 weeks suddenly dumps me under the belief that I am flirtations whenever I have any form of conversation with the opposite sex.
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Thoughts?

The next day, Himiko woke up from a dreary dream. She looked at her clock, which read 2:15 p.m. She sighed heavily as she climbed out of bed. She noticed Tenko wasn't in the room, but she didn't really care. She thought about getting dressed, but all she could do was stare miserably at her closet door. She decided to forego getting dressed, and shuffled silently down the stairs. Even in her sorrowful state, she noticed that it was a little too quiet. She wondered if everyone else was gone until she turned the living room light on.
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"IT'S A LIE!!!" everyone exclaimed.

"NYEH?!?!" Himiko exclaimed in shock. The others were all wearing Kokichi's outfit and wigs that resembled Kokichi's hair. "Wh-What's going on?!" Himiko squeaked.
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"Nee-heehee...I heard that you were lonely without me, HimiCocoa Bean! Sooo...everyone decided to dress up as me!" Kaede said, smiling a Kokichi smile as she placed her hands behind her head.
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"That's right, Crackerjack!" Kaito said with a cheeky grin. "Nee-heehee...I don't want my supreme lady to feel sad without me, ya know! Cuz I'm Kokichi Ouma, Supreme Leader of the Stars!"
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"Sooo...whaddya say, Monkey Buns?!" Tsumugi asked, trying to be as excited as Kokichi would be. "You can plainly dress up like me, too! Nee-heehee!" Tsumugi handed Himiko a Kokichi outfit that she sewed together herself, along with a Kokichi wig. Everyone stared at her with expectant and excited faces. Himiko broke out into a smile.
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"Nyeh...okay!" she said. "I'll be right back!" She took the clothes and wig from Tsumugi and headed upstairs to change. She came back downstairs and threw her hands behind her head. "Nee-heehee! Let's get this party sssstarted!"
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"YIPEEE!! I'm sooo totes excited!" Angie exclaimed cheerfully. "Nee-heehee! If I were Angie, I'd say Atua is excited, too!"
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"Nee-heehee...Kokichi play pranks on friends today!" Gonta said. "That is what other Kokichi's wanna do, right?"
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"Yes, let us begin the pranking process...nee-heehee," Kirumi said politely.
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"Right after I choke myself," Maki said, grabbing her own neck. "Nee...cough...hee...cough, cough...heeee!! Just kidding. It's a lie. I would never choke myself. I don't wanna die...y'know?"
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"Woooow, me! That was a really convincing, well...me! " Tsumugi exclaimed to Maki.
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"Thanks..." Maki replied. "I had a whooole lot of practice being choked."
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"Okay, guys! Let's think! How are we going to prank people today?" Ryoma asked. He put his hands behind his head, but he wasn't smiling. He just had his usual laid-back expression. Kaede cleared her throat at him. "Oh! Um...nee-heehee!" Ryoma added quickly.
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"I know! We can play ding-dong ditch at 7th Island House! Uh...nee-heehee!" Shuichi suggested. "That's always fun, right?"
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"Instead of ditching, hooow about we shoot whoever answers with water guns?" Rantaro suggested.
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"Aaaand instead of fillin' up the guns with water, we fill 'em up with lemonade so that they'll think it's pee! Nee-heehee!" Miu cackled. "Guess Miu isn't the only one with a golden brain after all!"
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"Nee-heehee...Miu does not have a golden brain!" Keebo said, throwing his arms out to his sides like Kokichi would. "Last time I checked, pigs' brains are small and pink!"
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"Eeeeeeee!!" Miu whimpered. Keebo gave Miu an apologetic look. Miu narrowed her eyes at him. "Oh, yeah?! Well, Kee-boy is a hunk of scrap metal that needs to be taken to the junkyard! NEE-HEE-HEEEEEE!!!"
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"Ugh!! I'll have you know that Keebo, er...Kee-boy is a cool robot with-" Keebo began.
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"NO DICK!!!" Miu shouted angrily.
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"Nee-heehee...wooow, here I am, arguing with myself," Kaede laughed, though her voice seemed threatening. She looked at Miu and Keebo with a warning look. "I'd better stop that! People will think I'm crazy if I'm arguing with myself!"
​
"We're sooowwwy..." Keebo and Miu apologized sheepishly.

"Yes...let us go next door and pull the prank, already, nee-heehee..." Kiyo said.
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"Leeet's do it!" Kaito exclaimed. They all rushed to get water guns and filled them up with lemonade. Then, they headed on over to 7th Island House.
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"Who's gonna ring the doorbell?" Tenko whispered as they all hid behind a few bushes near the entrance to 7th Island House.
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"Nee-heehee...I will do it!" Angie whispered.
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"Okay! And when whoever opens the door opens it, we all rush in and attack everybody, got it?" Himiko said.
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"Ooo! That sounds like fun, actually!" Kaede whispered with excitement. "Who knew it would be fun being me?" The others had to agree that their plan did sound like fun. It made them see the fun side of Kokichi. Angie slinked over to the door while the others tiptoed closer to the house. Angie reached out to ring the doorbell. The door opened to reveal Mahiru.
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"Kokichi? What are you-...wait! You're not Kokichi!" she exclaimed.
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"You're right!" Angie said, and pointed the water gun at Mahiru. "IT'S A LIE!!" Angie squirted the water gun at Mahiru, making her back up. Immediately after, the others came rushing in.
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"CHAAAAAARRRRRRGE!!!" Kaede shouted. They all squirted whichever resident of 7th Island House came into view. Kaede squirted her gun at Nagito. "TAKE THIS, HOPE BOY!!!" she shouted.
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"Wow! I've had the pleasure of lemonade being shot at me by an Ultimate dressed as Kokichi!" Nagito said with wonder. "This day couldn't get any better!"
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"It's not lemonade, Mr. Crazypants! It's pee!" Miu said.
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"How unfortunate," Nagito said, shaking his head. "This must be the result of my bad luck."

"Ah, I'd like to be hit with a golden shower, if you don't mind," Terteru said, wiggling his eyebrows up and down.
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"You asked for it, CHEF BOYARDEEZ NUTS!!!" Miu said, shooting Teruteru with the lemonade.
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"Mmm! Keep it comin!' Keep...it...comin!'" Teruteru moaned ecstatically as he rubbed the lemonade all over his body.
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"Stop! I command you to back off! Or you will feel the wrath of my Four Dark Devas!" Gundham growled at Kaito.
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"Launch your hamsters at me all ya want, Hamster Boy! I, Kokichi Ouma, ain't scared one bit!" Kaito said before proceeding to squirt Gundham.
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"AAAUUUGGGGHHHHH!!!" Gundham roared. "REST ASSURED, YOU WILL WAKE UP TOMORROW MORNING SURROUNDED BY THE BOILING PITS OF HELLISH PANDEMONIUM-AH!!"
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"AAAAHHHHH!!! WAAAHHHHHH!!!" Kazuichi screamed as he was being chased and squirted by Maki. "I DON'T WANT PEE ON ME!!! I DON'T WANT IT ON ME!!!" He hid behind Akane. "AKANE, HELP ME-HEE-HEEEEEEE!!!"
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"Don't worry, Kazuichi," Akane said. "I can take on this chump!" She stared down Maki, but Maki wasn't fazed.
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"Nee-heehee...you're making such a scawy face," Maki said in a deadpan voice as she sighed and placed her hands behind her head. "I'm not scared of you, Akane O-Why're-You-Stupid!"
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"Stupid, huh? You're gonna pay for that!" Akane growled. She launched herself towards Maki, but Maki jumped over her, squirting her in the process. She landed in front of Kazuichi and squirted his face.
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"AAAAUUUGGHHHH!!!" Kazuichi screamed. "Wait a second...this really is lemonade, you guys!" he said to the others.
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"Huh? So Nagito was right, after all!" Ibuki said.
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"That's too bad," Teruteru sighed with disappointment.

"We should get water guns and fill it with shit!" Nekomaru said.

"No, no...that's g-gross and highly uns-sanitary," Mikan mumbled quietly.
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"You guys just decided to barge into our house and trick us?!" Hiyoko exclaimed incredulously.
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"That's right, Bananarama!" Himiko said, squirting Hiyoko.

"UGGHHH!!!" Hiyoko groaned in frustration, wiping the lemonade off her face. "And why the hell are you guys dressed like Kokichi?!"
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"That is none of your business, Miss Angry Face," Kirumi said.
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"You do guys know that this means war...right?" Chiaki said.
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"Oh? And what do you plan to do, Little Miss Gamer Girl?" Kaede asked with a cheeky grin. Chiaki smiled.
​
"Well, this is a game, right?" she responded. "As the Ultimate Gamer, it makes sense that I would play, too...I think. So, that being said..." Chiaki stepped on a tile on the floor. A pillar of water guns emerged from the ground. The residents of 7th Island House gave the Casa V3 students mischievous grins. "...let the war begin!" Soon, war broke out between the two houses; it was lemonade vs. water.
​
"There's only room for one imposter here," said the Ultimate Imposter as they squirted Tenko.
​
"I got you, you, um...bad person thingy!" Shuichi said as he squirted Mahiru with lemonade.
​
"Ha! A camera isn't the only thing I'm good at shooting with!" Mahiru countered, and shot Shuichi right back with water. Rantaro was chasing Hajime across the room.
​
"Think you can keep up?" Hajime called out behind him to Rantaro.
​
"Hahaha! I wouldn't worry so much about me!" Rantaro said with a sly grin. Hajime kept looking behind him, not looking where he was going. He suddenly ran into a wall.
​
"Nee-heeheee...awww, did wittle Hajime get an owie?" Rantaro teased. "Too bad! Hey! Would you prefer first-aid, or...LEMONADE?!" Rantaro then proceeded to squirt Hajime.
​
"P-P-Pleeeaaassse...don't squirt meeeee!" Mikan whimpered to Kiyo.
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"Okay, then...I will not," Kiyo said, lowering his gun.
​
"R-R-Really?" Mikan stammered hopefully.
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"Of course not!" Kiyo said, pointing his gun at her again. "It is a lie!" Then, he squirted the lemonade at Mikan.
​
"I should have seen that comiiiinnnng!" Mikan squealed, blocking her face.
​
"I hope you like your water cold as shit, cuz that's what you'll be drenched in for the next few hours!" Nekomaru screamed at Ryoma. Every time Nekomaru would shoot at Ryoma, however, Ryoma dodged every stream of water.
​
"Nee-heehee...you still got a ways to go!" Ryoma exclaimed, shooting Nekomaru's crotch.
​
"Hey! It looks like I wet my pants!" Nekomaru whined.
​
"That was the idea," Ryoma said with an impish grin.

"Kokichi will shoot lemonade at Peko!" Gonta said, aiming the gun at Peko.
​
"Go ahead...make my day," Peko replied, aiming the gun back at him. At the same time, they squirted their guns. Because the lemonade and water were clashing together, however, a puddle began to form on the ground, growing larger as Gonta and Peko continued to fire. As a result, they both slipped and fell. Not knowing they were on the ground, Kazuichi tripped over them.
​
"Haha! You can't catch-...OOF!!!" he exclaimed as he fell down.
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"Gotcha!!" Keebo shouted, squirting at both Peko and Kazuichi. In another part of the room, Himiko and Chiaki were aiming their guns at each other.
​
"MWA-HAHAHAHAAAA!!" Himiko laughed evilly. "I've got you right where I want you, Chiaki!"
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"No, you're wrong!" Chiaki replied in a dramatic voice, holding up her hand to Himiko. "I have got you right where I want you!"
​
"Think again!" Himiko countered. "Your gaming days are ove-"
​
"Uh...what's going on here?" came Fuyuhiko's voice in the doorway of 7th Island House's front entrance. Everyone stopped abruptly to turn their heads to see Fuyuhiko. When they did, however, they saw that it wasn't Fuyuhiko, at all. It was...
​
"KOKICHI!!!" Himiko exclaimed with happiness as she dropped her gun and rushed over to Kokichi, jumping into his arms. Kokichi looked at her in bewilderment, not recognizing her immediately due to her Kokichi disguise. When he realized it was her, he laughed.
​
"Hahahahahaha...'ello, luv!" he exclaimed in a British accent, ruffling her wig. "Why are you dressed up as me?"
​
"She's not the only one," Kaede said, walking up to Kokichi. Kokichi stared at her and everyone else who was dressed up as him in shock.
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"Okay, this is really weird!" he said.
​
"Well, Himiko felt really sad without you, so...we decided to dress up and act like you to make her feel better," Tenko explained. Kokichi looked at Himiko, who was still holding onto him. He smiled and raised an eyebrow at her.
​
"Nyeh...it's true," she admitted.
​
"Nee-heehee...you missed me that bad, huh, Monkey Buns?" Kokichi asked.
​
"Yes," Himiko murmured sheepishly, pressing her forehead against his. Kokichi wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her closer.
​
"I missed you, too," he cooed flirtatiously. Himiko blushed and giggled softly. He kissed her tenderly, making her sigh contentedly and blissfully. Then, she leaned her head onto his shoulder, smiling happily.
​
"By the way..." Kokichi began while Himiko remained in his arms. "...what are you guys doing in here? I passed by here and the door was opened, and all I heard was screaming."
​
"Oh! Well, since we were acting like you, and all, we decided to play a prank on everyone here at 7th Island House," Kaede explained.
​
"Yes! I rang the doorbell and we all rushed inside and started squirting everybody with lemonade with our water guns!" Angie added.
​
"Niiiiice!" Kokichi said with a cheeky grin. "Also...Himiko, I got you something from the Sugar Burger on the way back!" He handed her a bag from the restaurant.
​
"Nyeeeh! Thanks, Kokichi!" Himiko said, taking the bag before giving him another hug.
​
"No problem-o, HimiCocoa Bean!" Kokichi replied. "You know...Fuyuhiko works there, and he told me some interesting things that happened while I was gone." He smiled impishly at Himiko as she blushed sheepishly. "Care to explain?"
​
***
​
Later that evening, after Himiko had finished eating, she went to Kokichi's room to explain to him what had happened. She told him about how she wanted to be around Fuyuhiko just so that she could hear his voice.
​
"I see," Kokichi replied. "So, you thought Yakety-Yak's voice would help you feel less lonely, huh?"
​
"Yeah," Himiko admitted. "But...I wasn't cheating on you! I promise! Everyone else kept thinking I was, but I really wasn't!"
​
"It's okay, Himiko, I believe you," Kokichi replied.
​
"Y-You do?" Himiko asked.
​
"Yeah! Besides, you don't have that kinda energy to sneak around behind my back, anyways!" Kokichi said.
​
"Well, that's true, too, but...I don't wanna do that to you," Himiko said. "I love you."
​
"D'aww, Himiko! You're always spoiling me with your love!" Kokichi teased, pinching her cheeks. "But you know what?"
​
"Nyeh...what?" Himiko asked. Kokichi smiled flirtatiously at her.
​
"I love you, too," he said with a wink. Himiko giggled and threw her arms around him. They leaned back onto Kokichi's pillows together with Himiko's head nestled against the crook of Kokichi's neck. Himiko closed her eyes and smiled happily knowing that the other part of her was whole again. She drifted off into a deep sleep. Kokichi watched her fondly as she laid there in his arms. He suddenly heard a knock at his door. Making sure not to wake Himiko, he gently laid her down and went to answer the door. It was Kaito. With a smug grin, Kokichi leaned against the doorway with crossed arms.
​
"Did you miss my face, too?" he asked, raising his eyebrow cheekily.
​
"Tch...no!" Kaito answered. "I just...gotta talk to you about something. It's about Himiko." Kokichi stood up straight with a serious look on his face.
​
"What about her?" he asked.
​
"When you were gone...she wasn't acting like the supreme lady like she should have been," Kaito said. Kokichi stared at him.
​
"What are you talking about?" he asked.
​
"Well, she kept cryin' and layin' in bed all day instead of takin' charge," Kaito replied. Kokichi rolled his eyes.
​
"Kaito...not everyone is like you," he said. "I'm sure you mean well, but Himiko takes charge in her own way. I've seen it, and even you've seen it. Just because she's not like you, doesn't mean she's not 'acting like a supreme lady.' So, make like Mike and Beat It!"
​
"Well...I guess if it's okay with you, then it's okay with me," Kaito said, rubbing the back of his head.
​
"It isn't your problem, anyways, so stop worrying about it," Kokichi said.
​
"Right...my bad," Kaito replied before walking off. With one last eyeroll, Kokichi walked back inside his room and over to his bed, where Himiko still lay sleeping. Kokichi smiled warmly at her as he covered her with his blanket and gently kissed her cheek.
​
"Nighty-night...my supreme lady," he murmured softly. Then, he sat at the foot of his bed, playing video games for the rest of the evening.

I can think of a couple times off the top of my head where the entire group (or nearly) missed the mark and flubbed the challenge, and it's always interesting to see what kind of things trip them up so resoundingly.
- (Seattle) Season 10, Episode 5, "Pike Place Pickle" -- They had to make dishes using the unique food items from local artisans and basically everyone's was disappointing. So bad that they took the 10k prize right off the table. At least this Elim wa somewhat challenging, though. A few of those ingredients were whacky!
- (All Stars 1) Season 8, Episode 5, "Dim Sum Lose Sum" -- The infamously terrible Dim Sum challenge where half the diners walked out. A few of the Chefs had solid dishes but this is probably one of the most chaotically run Elims of all time.
- (Miami) Season 3, Episode 9, "Restaurant Wars" & "Second Helping" -- Picking on early seasons is kind of cheating, but had to mention this one. A RW so bad they had them redo it...this time without putting vanilla scented candles on the tables lol.
- (Kentucky) Season 16, Episode 7, "Carne!" -- Tell me why so many of the Chefs failed this seemingly simple challenge?? I felt bad for Dario, honestly.
- (LA) Season 13, Episode 8, "Beefsteak" -- Putting this one up here not because there was a deluge of crap dishes, but because SO MANY TEAMS decided to go the wrong way conceptually. Yes you need a BEEF dish for a BEEFSTEAK event...
​
Which ones am I missing that have stuck out to you?

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Memory transcript subject: Aioni, Nevok Student Date: [standardized human time] October 31st, 2136
Chris started his Xbox and picked this weird blocky game.
“Chris what is this game?” Chris turned his head to look at me.
“Oh it’s this old game called Minecraft, I’ll show you how to play it” he handed me a controller and started a new world.
“Alright so first thing we need to do is collect some wood” I spawned in the game and saw Chris’s character punching a tree.
“Alright I got the crafting table” I looked over to Chris’s side of the screen and he made multiple tools.
He then helped me make some tools and we started to collect more wood when I saw something.
“Oh hey Chris what’s that over there?” Chris looked over at my side of the screen.
“Oh that’s a village we can get some plants over there” me and Chris then ran towards the village.
We soon arrived and we saw a couple of crops that were planted and we took some of them. We soon left after going through the houses and the chests.
Chris made some wood planks and started to build a house.
“Looks like it’s turning to night time let’s place down our beds” me and Chris placed our beds next to each other.
I looked at Chris and he was blushing. My ears started to wag as he looked over to me.
“Oh your so cute you little fluffy bunny” he Scratched my head a bit and it was divine, I’ve loved the way he massaged my head, if I could I would have do this for many claws.
We both went into our beds and it turned back to day.
“Alright let’s put in some plants” Chris walked over to the coast near our house and used a hoe and a shovel to make some areas where can plant some crops.
“Alright so now what?” Chris looked over to me.
“We have some food to eat in the meantime while these grow” he then gave me multiple potato’s and carrots.
“Alright now we’re going to go mine” I followed Chris as we headed down a cavern. Chris spotted some stone with some black parts and started to mine it. I went ahead and started getting some cobblestone.
“Hang on wait a second” I looked up as Chris went over to his closet.
“It is cold in here” he pulled out this big blue hoodie and put it on. He looked so big in it, it was so cute. He sat back down next to me.
We played for a bit a longer and then we decided turn the game off.
“Kids food is ready!” We both looked at the door and got up. We both headed toward the table where I saw Lani and Vila.
We both sat down at the table and Lani brought out the food. Some starfruit and some cooked spring vines.
I took a bite of the starfruit and it was so juicy. I looked over to Chris and he was devouring the spring vines.
“So what are you two up to?” I looked over to Vila. She took a sip of a weird pink drink.
“We’ve been playing some games and I’ve been showing Aioni how to play them” Chris took a sip of a pink drink.
“Hey Chris what are you drinking?, it looks really good” Chris looked over to me as he was taking a chunk of the starfruit.
“Some strawberry lemonade do you want some” he moved the cup towards me. I picked up the cup and took a drink. By the heavens it was delicious. The flavor was something I’ve never tasted before in my life!
“It’s so good Chris!, can I get my own cup?” Lani nodded and I went over and poured myself a drink. I then went back to the table and sat down.
We are the rest of the meal and then headed back to Chris’s room.
“Hey Chris” Chris looked over to me as we both went under the covers of the bed.
“Yeah?” I pulled Chris’s hoodie up and went in. I poked my head out of the same hole Chris’s head was.
“Look at us we’re wearing the same hoodie!” Chris blushed and started to scratch my head. My made an embarrassing chittering noise as my ears wagged.
Chris grabbed a remote and turned the tv on, he then went ahead and put it on one of the main channels of Venlil Prime.
“What show is this?” We both looked at the tv.
“It’s the travelers” Chris looked down at me as he pet my ears.
“I think I actually heard about this, I’m pretty sure a couple people said it was like Doctor Who” now that I think about it, the shows are kind of similar.
I took a sip of some strawberry lemonade.
Chris yawned a bit and closed his eyes.
“I think I’m gonna take a quick rest” I looked at Chris and rested my head on his chest.
After a while we both fell asleep under the covers.
——— 5 hours later
I woke up and saw Chris was still sleeping. He looked so cute with his head against the pillow.
I looked up at the tv, it was some news report. Apparently there was a new human restaurant opening up nearby.
I looked back at Chris, he was still sleeping soundly. I decided to go back to resting on his chest.
A little bit later he woke up.
“Hey sleepyhead how was your dream” I patted Chris’s cheeks, his face was so cute.
“Very well beautiful” he gave me a little kiss on the head and I started making that embarrassing chittering noise again.
“Anyway what time is it?” He looked outside and saw it was storming out.
“Huh guess we can’t go on a walk in the park, want to play some more games?” I looked at Chris with interest.
“In a bit I wanna keep snuggling my loveable cutie” I rubbed my face against his and we went back under the covers.
We snuggled for about a quarter of a claw before we got up and headed towards the kitchen.
“Hey you two” Lani walked over to us and handed us some more strawberry lemonade.
“Thanks Ms Lani” we then headed back to Chris’s room and we both decided to watch some of the animals.
“Look at the little shrimp move around” Chris pointed at the blue crustacean zooming around the tank and into the plants.
“Look at the little fish” I watched as the catfish as Chris called it swam around in the tank eating some green stuff in the water.
We then went over to the blue death feigning beetle enclosure and watched as the beetles and the velvet ants wandered the enclosure.
“I thinks it’s about feeding time for these little guys” I watched as Chris put a slice of a vegetable and place into the enclosure. All of the little creatures went over and started eating.
“You know we could watch a nature documentary if you wanted” I looked over at Chris and nodded.
We then went over to the bed and put the covers over us and he put on the show.

Currently FIREd with a “succession” shortest giant size NW, in Silicon Valley, which means while by normal standards would be considered fat, doesn’t really work here. Nice forever house will cost 3-4M+ and I already have a condo set up with a super low mortgage, making it unpaleteable to bump up to 5-6%.
Where are some places that Bay Area fatFIRE people consider moving to that helps beef up how far your money goes? We want to be near ocean, and have access to quality restaurants, hopefully walkable and in a place that values education. We considered Hawaii and OC, but haven’t quite found what we’re looking for. I’m worried our roots here are getting stronger and if we don’t move I may get drawn back into the rat race. Having 5M+ does not feel like it is what it used to be, but in last 7 years housing has nearly doubled and I didn’t double my FIRE target.
What are some places fatFIRE folks moved to beef up their buying power but maintain the Bay Area feel.

Link to the previous post I made about this song.
​
A few weeks ago I was in a restaurant and heard this song. I couldn't quite make out the lyrics or genre of the song but based on the synth I heard I would guess indie rock or chillwave. Maybe the song was mixed in a way that made all of the other instruments harder to hear in a populated setting. I could hear vocals (I think they are male) but couldn't make out any lyrics or a melody.
​
I could really only make out the synthesizer melody in the song. The song I'm looking for uses a preset/patch that's very similar to the beginning of Resonance by Home. Or at least that's what it sounded like from where I was sitting. The synth plays a few times throughout the song, once at the beginning and two times near the end during what I assume is the last chorus of the song. I have recreated this synth melody in Vocaroo (it may be slightly off key because I do not have perfect pitch). Link to my recreation
There was only one song I could Shazam from the restaurant that day; it was Frozen by Sabrina Claudio, which is DEFINITELY not the song I'm looking for. The waitress also said that she couldn't tell me the name of the playlist that was playing in the restaurant (technical difficulties).
​
Here are the songs I have ruled out so far, with links to them provided:

• Frozen by Sabrina Claudio
• Metamodernity by Vansire
• Fire for You by Cannons
• Italo Disco by Last Dinosaurs
• Sense by Last Dinosaurs
• A Long Drive Back by Vansire
• Fly Out West by Yot Club
• Harvey by Her's (RIP)
• Feel It All Around by Washed Out (I know it's like the most well known chillwave song, but it wouldn't hurt to rule it out)
• Listerine by Dayglow

Do people smoke just about everywhere?
If I'm at any eating or drinking place in Tirana with an outdoor section, will most people be smoking there? Do people smoke indoors (bars, cafes, restaurants)? I've read different things, such as it's not allowed but people do it anyways.
When I lived in Portugal, it was nearly impossible to sit at an outdoor cafe without 4-5 people surrounding me and "blowing smoke in my face".

My (20F) best friend, "Brady" (20M) and I have known each other since we were about 5 years old. Our families have been close since his family were regulars at my family's restaurant. Brady has a younger brother named "Johnny", about a year younger, who I also had a close relationship with. In middle school, Johnny confessed his feelings for me, and I reciprocated. However, Brady strongly objected to us dating because he felt uncomfortable with his best friend dating his brother. We were upset, but Johnny and I respected Brady's wishes and didn't pursue a relationship. Brady went further and didn't even want me hanging out with Johnny. Reluctantly, I distanced myself from Johnny.
I began dating my boyfriend, "Liam," who happened to be my neighbour, when I was 15 and he was 14. He has been amazing and I love him. I ended up taking Liam to my prom two years ago. Nearly a year later, when Liam and I were hanging out, Johnny showed up at my door with a flower, asking me to be his prom date. I said no, explaining that I had a boyfriend, which I thought he knew. He seemed embarrassed and left when Liam came to the door. Liam's prom was so fun. I was with Liam, my girl bestie and her date, my brother and his date, and Liam's best friend and his date. I noticed Johnny staring at me from a distance, which made me uncomfortable, so I asked my brother to switch seats with me.
The next day, Brady invited me over to talk. He told me that after the prom afterparty, Johnny came home drunk and had a tantrum. He shouted at Brady, blaming him for ruining his life and pushing away the love of his life. I told him I had no idea he still had a crush on me. Brady thinks that Johnny's crush might have resurfaced after seeing prom pictures and me giving a valedictorian speech (I was not top of my class, I was voted). Brady blamed me for Johnny's tantrum, and said that I should've gone to prom with Johnny since he was now okay with us dating. I expressed that it would've been unfair to my boyfriend and I. This led to a heated argument, during which Brady said he didn't know why I was with Liam because he is short, annoying, and autistic. I told Brady that if he couldn't respect my boyfriend, I didn't want him in my life.
A week later, I attended the high school graduation to support my brother, my girl bestie, and Liam. Afterward, Liam told me that Johnny seemed nervous around him, since they were put near each other because of their last names. He said it was amusing since Johnny is six inches taller and more muscular than him. Johnny came over to apologized to both of us for asking me to prom, admitting he knew we were dating and that he was being impulsive. Liam forgave Johnny, so I did as well.
Now, in the present, I had noticed that I wasn't invited to my friend's birthday party, which is unusual. When I asked why, he told me I was a traitor to the friend group due to how I treated Brady. The party is today. I believed I was in the right, but my guy friends have turned against me.
EDIT: To clarify, "Liam" is actually autistic, so it especially hurt me that "Brady" would consider this a negative a reason for me not to date him.
EDIT: I mentioned this in the comments: "Liam" and I are engaged, but it's a prolonged engagements because I want to completely finish university before I marry him. My parents also won't allow me to call him my fiancé until I finish my bachelor at least because we are too young, which is fair.
UPDATE: Today was my boyfriend's college graduation and he has been stressing over that while I had been having a hard time feeling happy for my boyfriend, while everyone's calling me a terrible friend. My parents invited us over for a drink as a celebration (we live in Canada, so my boyfriend can legally drink). I had recently moved out to live with my boyfriend. Johnny and Brady's dad went to my parents' house to have a drink with my dad, since they are buddies. He told me that, while Brady is going to that birthday party, he's not on speaking terms with Johnny. Anyways the four of us are clinking drinks in celebration for my boyfriend's achievements. Just goes to show that your day can turn around in a couple of hours.

Race Information
Name: Saskatchewan Marathon
Date: May 28, 2023
Distance: 42.2 km
Location: Saskatoon, SK, Canada
Website: https://saskmarathon.ca/
Time: 3:29:14
Goals
Goal Description Completed?
A Finish Yes
B Sub 3:30 Yes
Splits
Km Time
1 4:25
2 4:37
3 4:40
4 4:17 <- Steep downhill section
5 4:38
6 4:41
7 4:41
8 4:43
9 4:49
10 4:41
11 4:48
12 4:37
13 4:45
14 4:47
15 4:35
16 4:43
17 4:46
18 4:47
19 5:00
20 4:43
21 4:56
22 5:10
23 4:50
24 4:53
25 4:56
26 5:02
27 5:02
28 4:57
29 5:02
30 5:01
31 5:07
32 5:09
33 5:11
34 5:16
35 5:18
36 5:15
37 5:22
38 5:24
39 5:25
40 5:26
41 5:17
42 5:02
42.(43) 2:03 <- As per my Garmin watch
Training
This was my first marathon. I have previously run 5 half-marathons, the first being in 2018. I signed up for the Saskatchewan Marathon because I had been selected in the Chicago Marathon lottery and I wanted to have at least one marathon completed before Chicago. I liked the idea of training for a spring marathon before Chicago in the fall, and this is a relatively local event, so it seemed practical to run the Saskatchewan Marathon as my very first.
Winter in Saskatchewan is brutal, I had to log a lot of kilometres on my treadmill. I also had to replace the track on my treadmill at one point, thankfully the weather outside was mild enough at that time (only about -10C, or about 14F) that I could do long-ish runs outside when I needed to. I didn’t follow any particular training plan, but rather I read various marathon training plans and sort of pieced together a mileage plan that I felt I could achieve. I never fully reached my mileage goals. I was planning to hit 80+ kilometres in my peak week, but my highest weekly mileage was only 71.9km. Not a big deal, this is my first marathon and I was asking a lot of my body. I had also contracted Covid for the first time at the end of March, but surprisingly it didn’t set me too far back on my training. Overall, I was happy with how my training went, and I have a lot of things to build on for this fall.
Pre-race
I drove up to Saskatoon the day before the race. Supper of the night before the race was a vermicelli noodle bowl from a Vietnamese restaurant with some fresh rolls to start. I also bought some cupcakes from a local bakery. The morning of the race I had some cereal that I brought from home, coffee from the hotel room, and a banana. As someone who sleeps poorly at the best of times, I actually managed a decent night sleep in the hotel. This was about as good as it was ever gonna get before the race.
Race
The race started at 7:00 AM. The weather at the start was about 13C (about 55F) and overcast, which I felt was pretty perfect (I actually would’ve liked it to have been a bit cooler). It remained cloudy throughout the run, which was also ideal in my opinion. It had rained overnight and was still a bit humid, so the cooler weather prevented things from getting uncomfortable. We have also been dealing with a lot of smoke from wildfires over the past few weeks. The air quality at times had been at hazardous levels. Thankfully the air quality conditions on race day were much improved as well.
I kept telling myself to not go out too fast at the start. I really didn’t intend to. But it was hard to not get swept up in the initial adrenaline run. It also seemed that a lot of slower runners were lined up near the front of the chute, and people were quite packed near the starting line, so I had to start a little further back than I would have liked. I think my initial adrenaline rush and urge to get out in front of the slower runners contributed to pushing a little harder at the start. I don’t think it hurt the race too much, but I hope I can level out some of the splits in my next marathon.
The first few kilometres are largely downhill. Much of the race is spent running along the South Saskatchewan River, but you start up on a hill. This also means that coming back to the finish line is mostly uphill. The first 10km felt great, due largely to fresh-legs and the downhill course. The remainder of the initial first-half of the marathon wasn’t too bad, but you do have to climb partly back up the hill, because the course essentially has you run up and down the river twice. It is also notable that I set a personal best time in the half-marathon in the first-half of the race. I anticipated that this would happen, because I’m in much better shape than I was the last time I ran a half-marathon, but it was not a goal I had for this race.
My longest training run before this event was exactly 30.0km. Running past that 30km marker was a whole new world to me. I had always heard the real marathon starts with the last 10km remaining. This would become painfully true. All the aches I had been feeling were amplified. My legs were cramping to the point I was afraid it might derail my race. Everything did ultimately hold out for me, but it never got easier. With 10km to go my paces were slowing, and then there was the dreaded overall climb back up to the finish line. I was continually doing the math in my head to see where I needed to be in order to come in under the 3:30-mark. At one point I thought the goal time had slipped away, and I was telling myself it was okay because this was the first marathon. But with about 5km to go, I figured I could make it if I kept the splits under 5:30/km. This became my focus. I tried to stay out of my head and just focus on running steady. As the finish line got closer, I kept saying to myself “just 10 more minutes of this”… “5 more minutes”… then it was over. I was pretty overwhelmed crossing the finish line, so much hard work and anticipation, and I did it.
Post-race
As soon as I crossed, I got my medal and walked over to my partner. My legs were cramping fast to the point that walking was very painful and difficult. I also felt pretty nauseous, I think largely due to all of the sugary gels and fruit bars I had eaten during the run (roughly 1 energy gel/fruit bar per 5km). I don’t want to even look at a GU energy gel for a looong time. I got some post-race food, a coffee, and then headed back to the hotel for a warm shower.
Made with a new race report generator created by herumph.
Edits: formatting, I fixed it the best I can... lol.

How I yearn for the days of cozying up with a partner in a warm embrace (again). Chilling in the house watching anime, Pokemon battling, telling me some interesting nooks and crannies (or nook’s cranny) of whichever game we’re playing. Perhaps a romantic dinner at a reasonable restaurant on the Riviera… or Riviera Casino & Resort (I dunno, I made that up). Melting into each other no matter where we go or what we do… I miss that. I hope that’s of interest to you.
Physically, I’m half anglo-yank, half turk, a little big but am working on it. Lost nearly 40 lbs in 5 months and gunning for more. I take pride in being able to buy smaller shirts again. One day we’ll use my old 3xl shirts to snuggle.
Whatever your sorrows, I’m here for you. I very rarely get angry or frustrated and I even more rarely let it get to me. You’ve probably been through a lot and want to melt your frustrations away. Or you want to pick my brain about politics. I’m here for both. I live for both. But I’m also here for myself, and I’d say I’m doing pretty decently for myself. You being around is one way of worming your way into my heart already :)
If you’re interested, drop a DM (not reddit chat please). I’d eventually like to move onto discord if we hit things off well enough. I’d also prefer you to be in the US, hopefully around the Northeast or Virginia (my home sweet home). Or the Denver area. And lastly… please be somewhere in the ballpark of 23-31.
Take card of yourself, and hopefully I’ll hear from you.
Edit: please no minutes old or hours old accounts contacting me.

All credit for the world goes to u/spacepaladin15. I hope you enjoy! (and if you didn't, I'd be happy to hear your critique)
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Memory transcript subject: Trish, Venlil civilian
Date [Standardized Human Time]: February 28th, 2177
Location: Lower sprawl of City 23, Venlil Prime
Trish didn’t make any noise to announce her presence. Her jet-black dyed fur blended in with the soft shadows. By the time anyone noticed her, she could’ve been standing there for a solid quarter-claw. She’d made a sort of game out of it, seeing how well she could keep hidden under Sasha’s all-observant eyes. Of course, everyone who could notice her was sprawled out on various couches and chairs, overfull on stew and lost in the flow of conversation. That helped. In the dim lighting and complete absence of alertness, she could even smooth out her fur with a paw and not draw any notice from them, provided she did so quietly.
Watching people from the shadows instead of greeting them was predatory behavior, or so she’d been told; in school, she was repeatedly reprimanded for not socializing properly with the other Venlil. When they forced her to stop spending so much time alone, she chose to spend time with the few human kids. They were more interesting, and they didn’t yell at her because her tail and ears didn’t move like they were supposed to. She’d never seen any of those humans sit back and watch like she did; they were nothing if not sociable, although they always seemed to know when she’d talked enough and gave her space before she started to panic. Some “predators” they were.
They were nice kids. Sometimes she wondered what facility she’d be rotting in if one of them didn’t teach her the basics of writing Fl-sharp on an old, beat up datapad. When her teachers brought in assessors, she’d talked with one of them about programming for so long that they decided to forgo the tests entirely, assuming that such a talkative kid couldn’t have predator disease. Trish could barely bring herself to speak for days afterwards in a fog of social exhaustion, but the act had been worth it.
​
Minutes of self-absorbed self-reflection, and still nobody had noticed her. Perhaps James had butterfingered some sedatives into their food on accident? She decided to finally make herself known with a sharp tail lash against the wooden floor.
“...Trish. I suppose you’ll tell us why we’re all here.” Sasha groggily rose to look at her as she stepped out into the light. The rest mimicked the action, dragging themselves out of stew-induced stupor to focus their attention. Trish cleared her throat.
“Thank you all for coming. I’ve gotten word of another package on the way. It’s from her.”
That got their attention. James nearly fell over from twisting around to look at her. “Our mysterious unnamed benefactor again, so soon? What’s it this time, more books? Earth music?”
“Much better. It’s another unmarked.”
Last time they’d gotten an unmarked package from her, it had turned out to be a pair of pistols. Kinetic weaponry which would tear right through the flame/plasma resistant exterminator suits, though it also kicked like hell. One of them was given as a gift to a friend who lived on the dark side of Venlil Prime, and the other was concealed in Tressa’s coat. The prospect of something similar filled them all with equal excitement and dread.
“And no, I don’t have any idea what it is. All she said was to ‘be gentle with it’. It’s set to be delivered…”
Trish checked her pad again, quietly hoping that the words on the screen had somehow changed. They hadn’t.
“...at the Rising Star hotel, the one right next to the new spaceport.”
A single groan of frustration expressed itself through four different people. Tressa was the first to speak. “You’re kidding me. She’s seriously asking you to… not just the upper layer, mind you, a spaceport! The place’ll be crawling with those flamethrower freaks, one at every corner!”
"I know. And she thinks it’s worth the risk trying to get it to us anyway, whatever it is. So we’re doing it.”
There was silence, as every one of them tried to find a reason it wasn’t worth it. Even Trish, who’d already gone through this whole process nearly a paw ago when she got the message, tried one more time to write the idea off. All of them failed. The potential reward was just too great, and it wasn’t worth breaking the trust of their fixer. She was putting a hell of a lot on the line and blindly hoping they’d reciprocate.
With a long, exaggerated sigh, James rose from his sprawled lounge to a semi-respectable slouch. “So I’m taking it that this isn’t a solo op, is it. Who’re you looking to take?”
“All of us.”
Trish spoke in a clear, somewhat monotone voice which completely belied her nerves at her proposal. Truth be told, they didn’t need to come at all. Not for practical reasons. Some of them could certainly be useful, of course, but that was hardly cause to drag every one of them out for what really could be a solo operation. No, the real reason was far dumber than that.
—
The first time she’d noticed it was the night she met Burai. It was a miserably cold night, and she was nearly running to get home. Her route took her past the Tipped Quill, although at the time she’d barely noticed the building. Without any signage (much less the extensive remodeling that would come later), the establishment blended in with a thousand other dilapidated buildings on the street. She paid it no mind.
Or she would’ve paid it no mind, but something stopped her. A physical feeling, an icy tightness around her stomach which pulled towards the bar like a magnet. She stopped, wheeled around; Burai was sitting on the front steps, checking something on his pad and shivering lightly in the wind. She’d seen the old Gojid a handful of times, but never talked to him before. She’d never had any reason to. Without thinking, without even understanding what exactly she was doing, she started to double back.
It happened again a few weeks later, in a seedy restaurant on the border of Sweetwater. This time, instead of pulling her in, it was dragging her out with urgent force. She’d already finished her food and paid, so she just let it happen, watching with curiosity as it forced her into a half-sprint away from the building. It wasn’t until she’d rounded a corner that she heard the telltale roar of flamethrowers, and by then she’d already been ferried away from the chaos.
And again, commanding her to follow a digital trail that led her straight to their mysterious contact who’d turned out to be a veritable goldmine of banned materials, books and foods and a working firearm. And again, suggesting that she double back into the bar where she’d find Burai choking on a starfruit and unable to breath. The feeling had no words to speak with, but its command was always clear. And right now, it was telling her in no uncertain terms that the entire group needed to come along for the retrieval.
Of course, she couldn’t tell them the real reason why she wanted them to all go. She’d been making up excuses all evening, practicing a few to the bathroom mirror and shower wall. She braced herself for an explosion of hostility at the inane suggestion, squared her shoulders for the coming argument.
—
The silence in the room started to tear at Trish’s spirit. Were they so nonplussed that they wouldn’t even dignify her with a response? She felt tension building in her throat, thick enough to choke on. Maybe if she fainted on the spot, they’d take some pity on her. She never was a fainter, but if she forced herself to stop breathing she could make something work…
“Ahh… yeah. I thought we might, given your message.” Tressa began with a stifled yawn. “So how long do we have before leaving? Enough to get some rest?” His tail swished lazily across the floor; Trish didn’t need to remember the fine details of tail language to see the lack of distress in the movement. James went back to his sprawled position, muttering something about clearing his schedule.
Trish looked at him incredulously, and he failed to return the gesture. All of them were acting as though this was a sane, normal thing to request, starting to quietly chatter about the details of the mission in the same casual register they’d been using all night to discuss food and friends and work.
“All of you.” Trish made her voice firm. “Do you understand what I’m asking? This will not be a risk free mission, a ‘walk in the park’. Tressa, you said as much a moment ago. You didn’t seem so cavalier about this idea then.”
“Nothing we do is risk free.” James countered. “Even meeting here is a risk, right? And besides, I’ve been stuck down here too long. It’s high time I got some fresh air.”
That was hardly a real reason. Even Trish could come up with a better excuse than that.
…She decided to let it lie. If they were willing to go, there was no point in pushing back. They weren’t dumb; they knew the risks. If they didn’t want to tell her the reason they were so eager to jump on a pointlessly over-crewed retrieval mission, so be it. Who was she, to tell them to be honest with her about their motivations?
Trish leaned against a nearby couch and slumped into a more comfortable position, feeling her heart rate restabilize and her mind resharpen. Pulling out the pad again, she mulled over the details of the message one more time before speaking up.
“What we’re looking for is a light gray backpack with the UN logo on it. As I said, it’ll be handed over in the Rising Star hotel; exact location is still pending. We’ve got about 10 hours before we need to leave.”
She desperately hoped she had the time conversion between claws and hours correct, or she’d be dealing with either four underslept liabilities or a very irritated fixer who wouldn’t accept “slept in” as a reasonable excuse.
“We’ll need a few minutes to get prepared before taking Beast, and the trip up could take a couple hours if there’s really bad traffic. I’m sure you all understand why we need to be there immediately, so that possibility is what I’m planning around. That should give you all plenty of time to rest.”
Taking the multiple sighs of relief as her cue, Trish picked herself up from the floor and stalked off to one of the rooms she’d claimed as her own. She never liked these face-to-face chats, but at least the hardest part of her work was done. In the morning, she could focus on the relatively simple task of actually retrieving the package. The thought of the trip up wasn’t pleasant, per se (Beast wasn’t exactly a reliable steed), nor was the prospect of traipsing around the upper layer of City 23. Though it was undeniably beautiful, they’d be under the ever-watchful eye of the Federation at all times. Still, the stress of surveillance couldn’t hold a candle to the stress of social confrontation. Compared to that ordeal, the trip couldn't be anything but smooth sailing.
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As I head back to the Cancun airport here are my sentiments I take away most from the experience:
No where near as dangerous as online made it seem. Stuck to mostly tourist areas but definitely good to have situational awareness when venturing out.
The hospitality of Tulum was like no other. The people are friendly, hospitable, and service is next level experience.
Expensive, expensive, expensive. Probably the most I spent on a trip. But then again we went for the 1st class experience with boutique jungle theme hotel on water, and five star restaurants. You can easily drop $200 dinner for one at a top restaurant. But you can expect the most spectacular show like a Mayan fire performance comparable to a Vegas show. The quality of the food is out of this world. I think I ate the best steak I ever had in my life at Bak.
Vendors, yes annoying. You constantly feel harassed like every other minute on the beach. But do yourself a favor and spend the $10 on a 50 cent bracelet. You will make a 5 year old girl’s day.
Swim with the alligator, snorkel through the bat infested caves of the cenotes even if feeling reminiscent of one of those horror flicks where they discover some terrifying new species deep within lol. Learning the Mayan rituals history despite its gruesomeness was magical to be there.
I hate im too cheap to buy one of those beautiful Mayan style dresses but if any locals have insider tips for an online store I can get cheaper lol help a girl out.
I’m sad for the Mexican people that the only beach area I witnessed the locals enjoying was this rough area with stones and boulders whilst the tourists enjoyed the pretty sandy beaches. Yes the sargassum is bad, doesn’t smell. You can find some areas cleaned daily by the resorts. The water is nice.
Be ready for the mosquitoes. Those things are like ninjas, you’ll never see them coming. No amount of repellant will prepare you for battle. My ankles are covered in welts 😩
I think if I were to visit again I would find an Airbnb, rent a car, eat the street food, and venture out. We were two girls English speaking only so played it safe going into this. So much development going on in Tulum, I can only imagine what it will be like in ten years, better or worse. I definitely appreciate the experience.

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Memory transcript subject: Lani, Venlil Gardner Date: [standardized human time] October 27th, 2136
Next paw was when Chris would be able to go to school, we have all his supplies so as a treat me and him went on a walk through town. I was passing by Marlik’s place so went inside and greeted him.
“Good paw Marlik how are you?” Marlik turned in my direction as he was tending his plants and when he saw Chris his wool puffed up. “WHY IS THAT PREDATOR NEAR YOU?!” Marlik was panicking he dropped his water fan on the ground. “Look Marlik its fine this is just my new son” I tried to calm Marlik down and his wool only slightly went down. “Look Lani I know we’re wonderful friends but what were you thinking bring him in here” Marlik then turned to Chris and Chris just stared silently with his hands in his hoodie pockets. “Look Marlik how about you and me talk at the table while Chris just takes a look at your garden” there was brief silence.
“Fine but if that predator ruins any of my plants we’re gonna have a problem” I could hear the slight anger in his voice so we headed to the table while Chris walked into the garden marveling at its beauty.
“So you mind exposing to me why you adopted a human?” I turned away from Chris and towards Marlik. “I just felt awful for them and hearing about Chris’s case I just knew I had to take him in” Marlik then grabbed a cup and filled it with juice and took a sip. “What does your daughter think of this Lani I mean seriously don’t you think this will affect her in school?” Marlik took a big sip from his juice. “Look Marlik my daughter hopes that it will be fine I’m just worried about the other kids you know” “look Lani it’s just that you need to be careful alright, also what was so special about Chris’s situation that you chose him?” I got a bit nervous when he asked “apparently he has something called autism” Marlik was now curious when he heard this. He tilted his head “what is autism?” He took another sip of his juice. “Is a genetic thing that makes it so he’s better at problem solving but it also affects his social skills as he has trouble with that” Marlik then looked at me “so it’s kinda like Predators disease?” When I heard this I got angry. “IT IS NOTHING LIKE PREDATORS DISEASE ALRIGHT,ITS JUST HIS BRAIN!” Marlik went back a bit with his wool puffed up a bit “Look Lani just calm down I don’t mean to insult him its just that it sounds similar” I leaned over the table “well maybe you shouldn’t go around assuming things like that, I mean you say that to a full grown human who knows what will happen” when I finished saying that Chris walked into the room. “Hey you guys done talking or? Me and Marlik then turned to Chris. “Oh yeah we we’re just finishing” Chris then turned to Marlik “hey you have a wonderful garden just one question” Marlik then stared at Chris.
“And what would that be?” Chris then pointed to a statue in the garden of Venlil with wings. “Where did you buy a statue like that, I mean it looks somewhat familiar to me but I just don’t know why” Marlik than looked at the statue and then back at Chris “I bought it at a antique store in town” “okay cool hey Lani can we go now?” I looked over to Chris “yeah sure come on”
We then left Marlik’s house and started walking around the town again when Chris stopped and was staring at a building. “Hey Chris you alright?” Chris then turned to me “they actually have a vegan Mc Donald’s?, come on we have to get something to eat” Chris then grabbed me by the hand and we walked towards the restaurant and inside. We then order a couple fries, some apple and a soda. “So Lani how do you like the fries?” I turned towards Chris “they are delicious I mean I can’t believe these are made of plants and they sell them so cheap” me and Chris then talked for a bit as we walked back home.

Hi. I just came back from a two week trip. I lived in Osaka and Tokyo some years ago so this trip was really meeting up with old friends again and also going for some new adventures.
It's so affordable now (if you have USD, which is strong against the yen). I ate and drank so well! I went to a lot of izakaya, tried various local and regional specialties (unagi around Hamamatsu, akafuku in Ise, for example). All for waaaayyyyy cheaper than what I spend at home in Philly or NYC.
I also did a bit of biking. In Japan you often get a mamachari, which is like "your momma's chariot", or a bike your Mom would ride. With a basket. But hey they're fun for just cruising around! I've decided biking around the countryside is one of my favorite travel activities.
The main idea of this trip was:

• Tokyo - catch up with friends and visit my favorite hang out places and restaurants.
• Hamamatsu - I went to a beach at 7am, rented a bike, and biked around the Lake Hamana area. I took three trains, two buses, and a ferry to Ise. Yes obviously it takes longer than shinkansen to Nagoya, but this is the scenic route lol.
• Going to Ise was about Ise-jingu, of course.
• One night in Nabari. I wanted to see Akame 48, where there are a bunch of waterfalls.
• Nara - last time I was there was 19 years ago. I spent just one day doing the usual stuff in Nara-koen and two days doing a bunch of other things on the outskirts.
• Osaka - it was great to be back, but mainly I was there to get shinkansen back to Tokyo.

Some more details:
Tokyo

• I splurged and stayed at the Shiba Park Hotel. Shiba Park is near Hamamatsu-cho, which is easily accessible from Haneda via the monorail.
• I went to a Kanda matsuri (festival) that involved people parading around omikoshi (portable shrine). They're really fun if you haven't seen. While there, by chance I came upon a kabuki theater and an usher convinced me to buy a ticket. Really colorful and dramatic.
• I hit up some museum favorites such as the Tokyo Photographic Art Museum in Ebisu (I used to live across the street) and Ōta Memorial Museum of Art in Harajuku (all ukiyo-e, which I love).
• Tip: if you are in Tokyo Station, have time to kill, and like art, there's a gallery near the north gate. Currently it's Japanese Paintings of Modern Osaka.

Hamamatsu

• Probably not on most people's radar, it's not a must-see city. I took a local train to Maisaka, walked to the ocean, walked around more, and found a bike rental place in Bentenjima.
• Biked up to Hamanako Garden Park. It's all about flowers. Then biked farther up to Kanzanji-cho and ate some delicious unagi (eel).
• The city is not super exciting but the Museum of Musical Instruments is really cool. They have a room with instruments you can rock out on. I banged on a djembe and plucked a koto.
• As part of the scenic route to Ise, I took trains and buses out to Irago, then ferry across to Toba, and local Kintetsu train up to Ise.

Ise

• Stayed in a ryokan near the train station. The main thing here is Ise-jingu, the most sacred shrine in Japan, the holiest of holies. Took advantage of lingering jet lag to wake up early and get in at 6am. It opens at 5!
• The early morning hours are great. The main strip leading up to Geku wasn't that crowded even in the afternoon, although the main strip outside Naiku - okage yokocho - started to get busy after 9am.

Nabari

• A small town in Mie-ken. I had always heard about Akame 48, where there are supposedly 48 waterfalls. The day was totally rained out. I took a local train and then bus to the visitors center but the rain wasn't letting up. I had a long chat with a friendly young Japanese guy who worked there. He doesn't see many visitors lately so I think he was glad for the opportunity to chat.

Nara

• Stayed at a guest house near Nara-machi. This area is so cool - some tourists visit but still very local. Great for strolling around and checking out the shops. I did the usual Nara Park stuff for one day - Daibutsu, Nara National Museum, etc.
• I rented a bike and headed out to Toshodai-ji and Yakushi-ji. It's a slight trek but there's a small river you can bike along which was cool.
• I tried and failed to finish the yama-no-be-no-michi ("mountain area path"), as detailed in the LP book. I started too late and it was too hot. There are sign posts here and there but notably lacking where there are some forks in the road. You start from Tenri station and takes at least 30 minutes walking just to get to the start of the trail. Better planning next time.

Osaka

• Stayed at APA Hotel in Umeda, rented a bike and went out to the aquarium. That's a bit of a slog but still worth it. At night walked around the usual places like Shinsaibashi, Ame-mura, etc.
• I had time to kill before catching the shinkansen back to Tokyo so I rented a bike from the Shin-Osaka station and biked along the Yodo River. It's so nice - wide paths and great scenery.
• Tip: I was reminded of how confusing it is to navigate Umeda on the street. Don't bother. If you have to find a station or something, go underground and follow the signs!

Some expenses (USD):

• Airfare: $1500
• Hotel: $1200
• Food and drink: $700, which is simply amazing. And I ate so well!
• Transportation: $325
• Various activities: $300

My takeaway: after traveling in many places, I continue to find that some of the best experiences are those unplanned. Any trip requires plans obviously, but with a little luck and a traveler's intuition, I'm getting better at arriving at those fun spontaneous moments.
Ask me any questions. Thanks for reading.