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Collecting bad words for biographers. James Joyce: "biografiend." Joyce Carol Oates: "pathographer." "Every great man has his disciples, and it is always Judas who writes the biography" – Oscar Wilde.
(I hope none of the potential students of my biography seminar are reading Culture Industry these days, since I'm giving away most of the few ideas I have about the subject.) Catherine Parke, in Biography: Writing Lives, justifies the fact that all of her exemplary texts are literary biographies:
Over the past 200 years, professional writers have surpassed the former leading candidates of biographical interest in Western culture: royalty, saints, and military heroes. Writers, beginning in the late seventeenth century, became the new heroes of modern print culture and expanding literacy. Their lives also became templates for post-Renaissance notions of the relation between public and private self, the Western invention of individual identity, and the foundational concept of the reality of a psychological life.Well, ain't that convenient? I'm a literary scholar, teaching the works of poets, fiction writers, dramatists & essayists, & have gotten interested in biography; & by golly, there seem to be more biographies about the people I'm already invested in than anybody else! So I (MS) must hie me off to Barnes & Noble & do some grubby quantitative analysis. First I go thru the "Biography" section counting heads; then I'm off to the places Parke isn't looking – "Music," to count how many lives of Frank Black, Morrissey, & Madonna there are, & "Film," where lives of Rock Hudson & Marilyn Monroe outsell the latest Ezra Pound any day of the week.
Aside from the self-aggrandizing nature of Parke's claim, there's something to be said for examining specifically literary biography (& yes, most of the biographees this spring will be writers), not least the hurdle of making interesting lives whose most significant moments are spent in solitary desk-labor; & of course the mise-en-abyme of the writer confronting the writer, trying to capture one set of words in another.
Obviously I haven't written much about poetry per se in ages. But I'm feeling nostalgic for the days when blogospheric compatriats like Josh Corey would actually post work in progress. Here's a fragment of my own w-i-p, maybe a bit of an aria from a post-android opera:
bend down you fabled aviatrix& John Latta's been posting some very gnarly new lines on his gnarly Dumpster Island.
mistress of struts fuselage
and yellow busy wasps
beneath your canopy I acquaint
me with sea-surge the moan
of dark and underwater
caves swim through the air
on pinioned and tense wings
lights dim and pattering rain
Eric posted this clip a few weeks back on Say Something Wonderful, but it's too good not to disseminate, particularly since I've had the song ringing thru my mind for days now.


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Welcome to cheekyhandmadesE17 London sewing classes, sewing machine repair & servicing, children's parties, bespoke handmade quilts for sale
Book a great sewing class here!
Classes and how to book
Please see the classes page for full details of the classes I run and how to book. Alterntatively you can jump straight to the listing and booking here
Welcome to my website. Here's where you can find out all about my classes, my sewing machine repairs, my quilts and my blog.
I run classes from a purpose built studio in Walthamstow, East London. I will also travel to most parts of London and those areas of Essex etc near-ish to me. My studio is well equipped and airy yet very homely and is great for nervous students as it's far from clinical and scary! I will surround you with chatter and fabric and pompoms and tea. And cats. Unless you are allergic, then I can keep them out.
I run classes for everyone from the totally petrified to the confident-but-want-to-learn-a-new-technique.
I also run private classes you can take alone or share with a friend/ your mum/ partner.
I run crafts parties (hen, birthday, leaving etc) for kids and adults. Just contact me here to discuss. Options are garter making, cushion cover decorating, t-shirt decorating, bunting making, patchwork etc.
Children's Birthday Parties
I run kids' birthday parties as a great alternative to the usual. Kids get to create, which they love, and you will love too. I will take care of everything, you just roll out the cake at the end whilst I tidy up. Have a look at the dedicated page for the parties for full details.
web contact
Teacher, Artist

subset: commoncrawl


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Seahawks coach Mike Holmgren confirmed after practice that QB Matt Hasselbeck is out for the San Francisco game and Seneca Wallace will start. Holmgren said Hasselbeck is rehabbing and his understanding is he is getting better. But he did not exactly dispel the notion that this could possibly be worst-case scenario and Hasselbeck may not come back this year. When asked that very question, he started out by saying this, "I am confident that he, well ...." Pause. "I am pretty confident he'll be back. But right now for anybody it is a little bit of guesswork. They are doing all the right stuff. He is doing all the right stuff. It's just the leg has to respond, is my understanding, the strength has to respond. The nerve has to start going in the right direction."
Seneca said he feels a little more confident this week because he has had another full week to work out and gets in reps. He said he doesn't know about the calf. He said if something happens to it during the game, he promised to alert Holmgren.
I was asking Lofa Tatupu about the defense building on the second half of last week's game in Tampa. He said he thinks the defense has actually played well the last two games -- they just need to get off the field. He said he thought they played well last week and got penalized unfairly by the officials on both the Bryant TD and the Ike Hilliard fumble.
Deion Branch is again not playing, and Holmgren said the heel is just too painful for Branch to compete. He said Koren is fine and will play, as will Pork Chop. The latter was back at practice playing right guard, though he once false started, sending Holmgren into one of his famous rages. Thereafter, the offense's tempo was pretty good and Holmgren seemed a little playful, even going over and acting as if he was lay out Deon Grant after Grant was returning an interception of a Charlie Frye pass.
It was a nice day out at the VMAC, with a few birds sitting on a log watching practice, but for whatever reason Brandon Mebane was wearing an all-white arctic head wrap thingy (that's an official term, by the way) that you might see a musher wearing in the Iditarod. That should help in San Francisco, where it's about 23 degrees below zero.


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Then a friend of mine with a car was able to take me to a Costco in Brooklyn. I looked for turkeys, but all I found were Butterballs (ewwwww) and some ludicrously expensive tiny turkeys. I also found a Thanksgiving Inna Box. It was a pre-cooked turkey, stuffing, potatoes, beans, etc. The entire thing could be ready in 90 minutes. I met a couple who were marveling over it and debating whether or not to buy it. Being the pushy New Yorker that I am, I told them not to.
"But look at the time you save!"
"Yes," I said "but Thanksgiving is the one day a year when you TAKE the time to make your dinner as great as you can. You do it so that you can be really thankful for being able to do things like this."
Look, I'll be fair. I know people that this pre-cooked turkey dinner would have been a godsend. Some people just aren't good cooks, can't be bothered, whatever. And for them, god bless. But this couple was standing there debating and it was clear they they were perfectly capable and willing to make their traditional dinner, they were just wrestling with temptation.
I was eventually able to get a real turkey, thankfully. That said, my Thanksgiving dinner is usually a fairly big draw for people. I thought it might be nice to talk a little bit about what I make and how I make it. The menu slowly changes over the years- adding an item here, removing an item there.
Turkey: Seemingly obvious for some people, strange to others. I've had vegetarian thanksgiving which was too proud to stoop to tofurkey, but it wasn't my cup of tea. Many dislike turkey because the meat is so dry or bland and boring. I've only ever had one turkey go dry on me, and it was an Empire Kosher turkey. Whether it was dry because it was kosher, or something else, I don't know. I baste my turkeys pretty damn frequently and the meat always comes out moist and flavorful. Doing this also ensures a tasty, crispy skin, for those of you who like that. Don't buy Butterball. Butterball shortcuts the basting process by injecting oil into the meat. Ew. People, basting takes two damn seconds. It isn't difficult or painful. It's Thanksgiving- put a modicum of effort in.
If your turkey is still partially frozen, it's okay. Just rinse the inside with some hot water before stuffing and stick it in the oven anyway. It'll take a little longer to cook, but it's okay.
Stuffing: It's called stuffing because you stuff it into the damn bird. The only time you should make a separate pan is if you have a hell of a lot of people coming to dinner. If that is the case, it's a good idea to buy a larger bird- larger cavity, after all. Part of the flavor of stuffing (as well as moisture) comes from the juices it absorbs from within the turkey as the turkey cooks. When you make that stovetop stuff, the flavor it gets comes from bouillon (mainly salt) as opposed to actual juices. Do yourself a favor. Either buy some real bread and let it sit out to get stale, or buy some Pepperidge Farms stuffing. Don't use pre-sliced bread. That's nice for sandwiches, but the water content is really high and it takes forever to get stale, because of all the stabilizers. If you try to use it and you don't dry it, you stuffing will end up being a gluey mess.
A question of texture. I know some people who take the raw stuffing, stick it into a blender until smooth, load it up into a baster, stick the baster under the skin of the turkey, and stuff the stuffing between the skin and the meat. I prefer not to have a stuffing paste. I actually mix my stuffing with my bare hands. It allows me to assess the stuffing both by look and by feel- making sure that everything is evenly coated and mixed, while delicate enough to prevent pasting. I'm not saying this is for everybody. It can often be painful, after I've added boiling water and going "Argh! Ow! Auuugh!" and my wife screams at me "Andrew, why don't you just use a fork?!" But it is how I like to do it.
Now, I like a savory stuffing. I know others like a sweet one, but I don't. I make a chestnut stuffing. That means that in addition to the bread, onions, celery and spices, I also add chestnuts. I like them in medium chunks rather than powder or in whole. Whole prevents the flavor from permeating through the stuffing. Medium lets you remember it's still there.
Pearl Onions: Traditionally, these are made in a very thin, slightly sweet white sauce. I haven't done that in years, but I may end up doing that this year. What I've done in years past was to make a heavy cream sauce, then melt good brie into it, making a brie sauce. It tastes divine, but it can overpower the onions and some people just ignore the onions to pour the sauce over the potatos, the meat, etc. That's a shame, because I do cook the pearl onions until just tender to the teeth.
Potatoes: By potatoes, I mean mashed potatoes. Simple potatos, butter, salt, pepper, a little bit of milk. I don't use powdered. I also don't do sweet potatoes.
Now, I've had a number of complaints over the years about the lack of sweet potato, so let me explain. We used to make them when I was growing up. And it wasn't that they were bad, it's just that everything else was so damn good that they never ended up being eaten. So one day we just said to hell with it and stopped making them, never looking back. Now when people explain that they'll eat every sweet potato I make, I look at them dubiously, then ignore them and don't make the things anyway. If you like them, good for you. But I *know* that it will jut be a waste of money and effort.
Brussels sprouts: Before you start complaining that you don't like brussels sprouts, shut up. First, the sprouts aren't frozen, but fresh. Frozen sprouts have a mushy interior. Second, mushy is not a texture sprouts should have. If you cook a sprout until it is mushy, you have overcooked it. Third, that bitter taste? That's also because you cooked it too long. Properly cooked sprouts have a very pleasant, slightly astringent green taste to them.
And I cook 'em in bacon (or when I've got dough, panchetta). Plus chestnuts. And onions. You could cook a hat in that combination, and it would be delicious.
Pomegranite sorbet: I've now made this both with fresh pomegranite juice from pomegranits I squeezed by hand, and once with pure unflavored Pom. I couldn't tell the difference, to be honest. A little bit of sugar, a little lemon juice, an astringent palate cleanser and a nice, light way to end the meal.
This year, I'm also planning to make some creme brulee with thick, coarse sugar on top. It allows a fatty, sweet dessert, but still very light.
Why not pumpkin pie? I used to make it. And, again, I made a very nice, very tasty pumpkin pie. But usually by the end of the meal, the last thing anyone wanted with a big piece of pie. So it would go uneaten. So I said, to hell with it. Nobody ever turns down creme brulee.
Hm. Maybe I'll make a pumpkin creme brulee, now that I think about it. At least it'll shut people up.


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Mitch Cooper knew something bad was about to happen when he saw a police officer approach a man in a clown costume outside of Milwaukee's City Hall. Naturally, Cooper whipped out his phone and began recording just as soon as the clown swung on the cop. The cop swung back, and then it was on. "It was funny to witness, probably not so fun for the clown," Cooper said.
The clown's name was not released, but he was identified as a civic activist who's often seen outside of government buildings. Police had released several complaints about the man chasing cars with a squirt gun. He was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct and resisting arrest.
RELATED: The Most Ratchet Stories of March, April, May, June, July, August, and September.
[via Gawker]


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Mr Anderson. At last you choose to seek the oracle. But I thought it's linux on yer mind. or is it that goddamn windows???
Did you just say what the hell you are punching in here??? !!! Puttar, this is just the beginning. Tighten yer seat belts.
I say this about me. It is pure. Unadulterated. Carries no influence. This section in near future will carry expressions that will require explicit content. So please, do insist on parental guidance.
I am Not the 'gotta write' kind of writer. But 'whatta write' kind. Is it confusing? Did you just say there's no word like 'whatta'? No it is, bcoz I could feel some sense going into it, that combination of letters has something for me. What keeps me 'busy'? It's chasing words, while chasing thoughts. It is inevitable. It's that appetite, which is so so irresistible. It's my grudge. It is just so very undeniable. Oh yes, it is sheer fucking detoxification. I enjoy it. I just go & go for it. As if got a splinter in my mind. Itching for something, irritating, hammering, banging, thumping, hopping…madly…asking the damn head to puke ideas…not simply serve them.
And then words tell me. See, the expression "And then" doesn't refer to any case in point, it indicates their (words') perpetual behaviour. This is what they say…they say…
Shake it, break it, fake it, bake it, smack it, whack it…eventually if you so badly need, go ahead and damn it. But word-head (but is there a word like that…I ain't care, bcoz I felt the need to write something like that and no other word could have done it for me and I therefore did) you just make it. You please make it.
The modern word, the word there was, the old word, the word that today can't, the word that could have been, the word that got miscarriaged, YOU just don't blame the innocent and free word, bloody you couldn't handle it…the word was never pre-mature but you were immature…you gotta word it, you just need that word; yeah, if that word happens, it's all I need.
They want to talk, I need to break the ice with them. But just how do I do that? Can it be the 'Can I' thing or 'Will I' thing? Do I really know enough about words??? Do I care to understand? Yeah man, you do. And then I dived into a ponderous thought, which went like this…
I decide to meet them. And I find a smart pack of them standing outside an idea post in my head. I then walk up to them. One juvenile among them pops an inquiry and he says, "Man you look lost", and then in another n-sec he does another "You know which way you gotta go, left or right?" And then before he could add 1 more to it I say "I…am, coming to you folks".
"You are noisy, and YOU have been pestering me all my life. Ummm…" But I can't do without you"….what goddamn destiny…I can't even speak without you…can't bloody even utter in my mouth and share it with my own self without you…"
To be continued…No to be updated…No, no…to be upgraded. coz humans only upgrade!!!


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Well, this summer's wonderful archaeological experience is now officially over. I arrived back in the States on the 26th, and while it's nice to have hot water and deliciously awful food again, I really miss Turkey.
This summer was long and full of hard work, but in the end we all learned so much about how to survey, excavate, and perform archaeological analysis. I ended up spending most of my time with the home team, drawing and inking pottery illustrations. I'm now quite proficient at inking despite a few days of horrific failure and periodic pen explosions. Some of my illustrations may be used in future publications, and I can't wait to see them in print! I plan to return next year for the Alalakh study season to draw EVEN MORE pottery and help out Mara, the amazing local pottery specialist, with her work.
Now the fall season of fellowship applications, grad school apps, GRE preparation, and all the rest of senior year responsibilities has begun, and Turkey has changed from a fascinating and complicated reality to a wonderful memory. In fact, I am currently sitting in the ARC lab at 9:30 AM, thinking about the things I miss about Turkey and preparing to begin my draft for the Provost's Undergraduate Research Fellowship (which all USC archaeology students should apply to!)
Soon it will be time for the first STARC meeting of the semester… get excited!!!
I'll add some pictures later… right now it's time to work.
-Sarah Hawley


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Women who have big fake plastic fingernails and go around tapping them on everything deserve to have their fingertips smashed with a hammer.
Then they should be forced to eat the pieces.
Hey, you at the ATM. Yes, Sheniqua, I'm talking to you. What the hell are you doing up there, programming the damn thing? You've reinserted your card three times, and pushed all the buttons, but I'm pretty sure it's not going to make that TANF money appear in your account any faster. Now move so that those of us who actually have some money in our accounts may access it. Thank you.
P.S....Nice braids.
Can we please call a moratorium on the damned Obama shirts? The fact that I disagree with the man's Keynsian "redisribute the wealth" bullshit nonsense policies notwithstanding, your shirt is offensive. He's the bloody leader of the free world, Lord 'elp us, not Kid Rock. It's not a rock concert, it's not a tractor pull, it's not a charity walk. The face of the POTUS does not belong stretched across your giant bulbous midsection.
Stop it.
P.S....No, you can't.
A cell phone is not a free pass that absolves one from common courtesy. You may be engrossed in your text or posting to your FB page or checking the hits on your porn site, or whatever it is you silly millenials do with those damned things, but it does not give you license to walk the hell in to me because you're too busy to watch wher the flaming fuck you're going.
Lastly, I would just like to reiterate that I hate tattoos. I know, I know...I'm a blinkered, stodgy old lady with antiquated ideas and a stick up my ass. Whatever, jackass; you look ridiculous. They are not beautiful, they are not artistic, and perhaps most of all, they do not make you unique. They do not affirm your individuality. You dig, freak show? They make you look just like every other shitass twenty-something with a bloated sense of self-worth and a lip ring. It's just ugly, and it makes you look trashy. I maintain that the only people that ought to have them are bikers, longshoremen, convicts, and soldiers. If you're not one of those things, don't get one.
And a special note to the tattooed ladies out there: I'd like to come after you with the same hammer I use on the fake fingernails.
Friday, August 5, 2011
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May 2012 NP Grads!! - page 2
I'm so EXCITED that I have finally made it to my final semester of FNP school. It's been a long and hard road but I can finally see the light. lol All May 2012 graduates come on in!! What are your... Read More
Mar 26, '12What program did you guys attend? Do you have jobs or interviews lined up yet? Curious and excited for you all...!
Mar 26, '12I attend the University of St. Francis. I haven't set up any job interviews yet. I want my license first. 40 days and counting!!!
Mar 26, '12Mercedes thanks for the positive post! Love it~ I am graduating May 12th but my last day of class is April 24th so I have 28 more days of this sugar honey ice tea . I am so excited yet nervous at the same time. I feel pretty prepared. I know I will pass boards no problem. I just pray I find a good job that I love and am good at. That's one of my biggest fears. The job market is sorta sucky, but I have faith. It has been an extremely long 7 semesters but I can honestly say it went by quick! WOW, almost done guys!!!! YAY
Mar 30, '12I am an FNP student at Shenandoah University in Winchester, Va. I will be walking in May for commencement and going through hooding/pinning but will not be done until July (finishing last clinical).. Very excited that this is almost done. Have you guys determined what NP review you will be doing or if you are doing one?
Mar 30, '12I will use Maria Codina Leik & Margaret Fitzgerald Review book plus notes from class. A little bit of self discipline and healthy dose of diet and exercise. I will not take any review courses, really its a rip off anyway.
Mar 30, '12I am doing the APEA review. I agree its a lot of money for a review course but, I see it as an investment. I do have het CDs but I just want to sit through the class so it will all sink in.
Apr 13, '12I graduate in June, the same day as my birthday, from the University of Cincinnati. I am so excited! Go Bearcats!
Apr 13, '12Got my ATT (unofficial email notification) just now, still need to get confirmation ID from PES. Now, 35 days left exactly to graduate and 46 days to sit for FNP boards if everything goes as planned.
Apr 14, '1222 days until you graduate or until the semester ends? I have 11 more days until the semester ends...I am honestly starting to get nervous LOL. Anyone else getting nervous?? Seems the time is going by a lil too fast for me now
Apr 14, '12Quote from reeyaI haven't got my ATT yet I think I applied before you. I only got the email saying my application was approved. How did you get a test date already?Got my ATT (unofficial email notification) just now, still need to get confirmation ID from PES. Now, 35 days left exactly to graduate and 46 days to sit for FNP boards if everything goes as planned.
Apr 15, '12Congratulation to you all !!!! I'm trying to get there and figure out what school to attend. I've been accepted Olivet Nazarene University and Applied to University of Saint Francis.
To MERCEDES674, How was the program at University of Saint Francis??? Did you do it online or on-campus???


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Teaching a new way of seeing is difficult, but I remember the teachers who were able to do that for me. English teachers like Mr. Anderson who would start on one topic and then magically guide us along until- WOAH! We are talking about semantics!! How did he DO that?? And my Psych professor in college, who taught us to read headlines and "stats" in advertising in such a new way that I've never been able to go back.
This reminds me of that old optical illusion... my Great Aunt Lucy had a cross-stitched version of this in her living room, and I remember one boring Saturday afternoon during one of our visits with her when I suddenly saw the word "JESUS" appear where I had once only been able to see blocks of black and white. I spent the rest of the visit watching the squares shift back and forth between the word and nonsense, fascinated.
I think religious education and Youth Ministry are all about teaching a way of seeing. Finding Christ, being aware of God's presence and love in our lives, cultivating thankfulness, living faith- none of these can be formed out of a textbook.


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|This page is a part of the Fallout: The Apprentice contest. It should not be confused with in game content.
Junk Idol Challenge 2 - Corvus
Master, the Dweller agreed to join the Unity and pursue the same goals as the Master. Turned into a super mutant through the use of the Mariposa FEV vats, the Dweller went back out into the wasteland, to carve the way for the Unity.
With the location of Vault 13 revealed, the mutant hordes fell on the denizens of the Vault without mercy, killing the majority and harvesting the rest. The Dweller, now transformed, partook in the sacking of the vault. A single tear fell from the mutants eyes as he walked through the scarred remains of his past, a final flicker of humanity faded from existence, and upon leaving the area, the Dweller never returned.
Praised for his ruthlessness and new found dedication to the cause, the Master elevated him almost immediately, much to the resentment of the Lieutenant. Tasked with creating a settlement in the Wasteland for wasters to seek refuge in, the Dweller once again went out into the wastes to create said settlement. The result, is Corvus.
Corvus is a settlement in the year of 2161 populated by various wasters and refugee's. The town was founded by the Vault Dweller acting on the orders of the Master to establish footholds in the wastes. Corvus is located south west of the Hub.
Settled by the Vault Dweller not long after the ultimate destruction of Vault 13 and the harvest of it's inhabitants. The objective of it's settlement was to expand upon the territory of the Unity, and establish multiple bases and settlements to attempt and attract wasters to the Unity, through the use of safety and an acceptable standard of living multiple wasters are subjected to each day. Sadly, the town of Corvus despite being part of the Unity, has fallen prey to the wastes and although still maintains a better standard of living than other places in certain aspects, has fallen into the hands of depravity and relative poverty. Although founded by the Dweller, he does not run the town, instead this is left to the hands of his/her's deputy of sorts, a woman by the name of Julianne Foley who sheriff's in the Dweller's absence.
Though seemingly in control, she acts on the orders of Morpheus, being a mere puppet of the Children.
- Vault Dweller
- Sheriff Julianne Foley
- Perch
- Dr. Shoe
- Corvus Settler
- Alice (mentioned only)
- Mutant kidnapper
Sections & Layout
The town of Corvus is divided into mutliple different sections.
One may also see the sheriff's office, which is the first building you come across. Julianne Foley will spend her days walking around in here, as it is also her area of residence. Though seemingly shabby with it's corrugated iron exterior, the inside boasts a quality far above that of the other settler's dwellings.
- Dr. Shoe runs this Clinic, and is a representative for the Children of the Cathedral and in turn, the Unity. A relatively kind member of the town, though none the less devoted to the ideals of the Unity and the Children. Seeing himself as a means to stamp out a "great illness" he offers his services to anyone and everyone who comes to his door. Due to serving everyone, he knows a great deal about all inhabitants of Corvus, and would be a reliable service to invoke if the need arises.
Residential/Settler's quarter
Comprised of multiple relatively shabby buildings, the residents end up sharing homes and houses with multiple other settlers, though this doesn't bother them much in the face of the Wasteland.
Perch's wares
The shop of Perch, Corvus' resident sleezy merchant. His shop is located just off of the eastern end of the settler's quarter.
- Perch will sell the player general supplies including rarer items that are difficult to come across in the Wasteland. This includes but not is limited to: weapons, armour, stimpaks and other medical supplies, and other assorted items. In terms of what weapons he sells, due to the nature of this point of the game, will be items of rarity in the wasteland.
Exchange PointA small area located around the back of Corvus' northern most wall, this area is empty until reaching a specific point in the quest to investigate the disappearances, upon completing reaching the point where you are told to eavesdrop on the meeting, 3 mutants will be in this area along with Sheriff Foley, but only at a specific time.
Related Quests
Deliver the Report to the Lieutenant
- Examining the note will show to the Dweller that numbers in Corvus are "mysteriously falling", and once the player returns to Lou, they can enquire about the disappearances which will lead onto the next quest.
Investigate the disapperances
Upon speaking to Shoe, he will only mention one victim by name, one Alice, a girl who had only recently arrived. He tells of the rumour that she was involved with the town's local merchant, and that he might be the next best person to speak to.
Perch is the towns local merchant, and he is found in Perch's Wares, in the eastern end of the Settler's quarter. Seemingly unintimidated with the Dweller's arrival in his shop, he will act abrasively towards the player when he is questioned. With a high enough speech skill or strength the rating, Perch can be coerced into spilling the information of intimidated (with the Strength check). He will reveal that mutants from the Unity regularly come and take individuals from the town, he is rather distraught at the loss of Alice as he genuinely cared for her. He will reveal that Foley sets up the exchanges every now and again late at night. With this information, the Dweller decides to eavesdrop upon one of the meetings and ultimately confront Foley and the kidnappers.
- Regardless of what day it is, the player can eavesdrop on the meeting at around 12 midnight, which takes place in a small shack behind the northern wall.
- The following day, the player will confront Foley, and reveal to her that he/she knows about her crime of kidnapping citizens for dipping without the knowledge of the Dweller or the Lieutenant. She will break down, and reveal the next meeting's time and place.
- Upon going to this meeting, the player will face the 3 mutant kidnappers.
- At this point the player may either kill the 3, or convince them to stop or face the involvement of the Lieutenant.
- Peaceful option:The player can convince the 3 to never again come here with a high enough speech skill, or like Perch, a high enough strength rating can be used to intimidate them into leaving.
- Kill the Mutants:The player can engage in combat with the mutants. This option is difficult as the mutants are equipped with high end weapons and have high resistance to forms of damage. Using this method, the player is able to retrieve their equipment.
- At this point the player may either kill the 3, or convince them to stop or face the involvement of the Lieutenant.
- Whatever option is chosen, the mutants will no longer steal citizens from their homes to become part of the mutant army against their will.
- Returning to Julianne at this point will make her give you her unique minigun as a reward.
Behind the Scenes
The name Corvus is latin for Crow or Raven, a prominent symbol of ill-omen and death. This ties with the town's inevitable decline, and that all those who come to it's doors disappear not long after arrival, leaving a dark cloud hanging over the town not just for the residents, but for everyone.
Role in the Unity
Ever eager to expand into the wastes and search for potential recruits for the Unity's military, the Master tasked multiple mutants of higher intellectual capability to go out into the Wasteland and establish communities in key areas in order to act as lures for settler's. Unbeknownst to the settlers, these towns are labs of sorts, with the medical staff stationed their peforming regular check ups to assess the resident's physical strength and state in preperation for the Master's Army to roll on through and collect potential recruits for dipping and induction.
Foley, the current sheriff enforces a strict "Don't ask, don't tell" policy with regards to Cathedral business. In response to her realization that the denizens were aware people were going missing, she seeded the rumour of the Crow, a creature that supposedly roams the wastes around Corvus, and that people who are unruly will be thrown out to the wolves and the Crow. The result of this is a subdued populace who are quiet, exactly how she wants them. In reality, the Crow is a simple mask for the kidnappings perpetrated by soldiers in the Unity in return for luxuries that are given to Foley, and Foley alone.
Authors note
Whereas siding with the Master at the end of Fallout 1 would normally end the game (as with all of the other endings), choosing to join him in this instance does not. Upon choosing the Unity, the player will be shown a short cutscene in which you witness the Dweller being dipped into the Mariposa vats. The screen will fade the back and the player will resume control shortly after, standing outside Vault 13 accompanied by various other mutants. The Dweller will proceed into the caves and upon activating the vault door, the traditional ending slide for the mutants assaulting Vault 13 will be played. This is the only slide that will play and the game will not end.The player will respawn outside of the Vault, ready to carry out further missions and orders.
After this Vault 13 cutscene has finished, multiple new areas and NPC's will be placed around the map in specific locations, ready for further missions.


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As a cake designer I love knowing that the cake, or cupcake, I'm creating will have special meaning to the recipient, so it's lovely when someone comes to me with a very definite theme in mind. In this case it was cupcakes for the 21st birthday of a chocoholic, musical, piano player.
Starting with the cupcakes it was easy to decide that the flavour would have to be chocolate ~ and a deep rich chocolate at that, which is achieved by adding melted chocolate to the cake mix and not just relying on cocoa powder.
For the topping I used a white chocolate sugar paste icing which I made by adding some of my handmade modelling chocolate to ordinary fondant icing. This gave the cupcakes a lovely ivory finish.
The decorations were a mixture of handmade mini piano keys and music themed note and treble cleft cutters with a few '21's and a 'Happy Birthday' thrown in for good measure.
The result was a really personal set of cupcakes and a delighted customer.


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I already reviewed California state ballot propositions. But wait, there's more! There's also San Francisco city & county ballot propositions.
- Proposition A: A parcel tax for schools. I vote no, because parcel taxes are the most regressive tax on the books. A Pacific Heights mansion pays the same tax as a a humble cemetery plot. I'll always vote against parcel taxes.
- Proposition B: A 400 million dollar bond? This looks like a bond with the title and summary carefully designed to include as many buzzwords as possible: "earthquate", "safety", "fire", "water". This seems like a boondoggle to me. Maybe it isn't. But the burden of proof is against expensive bonds in a debt-strapped economy.
- Proposition C: This would give the Board of Supervisors a role in selecting the city Film Commission. The Mayor's office can handle it: the BOS has more important business to deal with. I vote no.
- Proposition D: I vote yes: this makes it harder for city employees to blow out their pensions by loading up on overtime their last year. This bases the pension on the last two years. I'd make it five, but I'll take what I can get here.
- Proposition E: This requires the police to disclose funds spent on security. I like this: hidden budget items tend towards abuse.
- Proposition F: No way; this seems like yet another bureaucratic nightmare getting in the way of housing supply.
- Proposition G: I vote against. I don't think the voters should be expressing an official position on engineering decisions: if Main and Beale works better from a cost and capacity standpoint than the Transbay Terminal for high-speed rail, then that's where it should go. This is an issue requiring far more than shoot-from-the-hip analysis.
So that's two yeses, five noes. That's about right. I think it's important voters put propositions up to a high standard, to discourage abuse of the process. Let legislators make the hard decisions they were elected by the people to make. That's how our system was designed: each individual voter has neither the time nor expertise to analyze complex legislation with the depth and sophistication it requires. This is a fundamental basis for representative governance.


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|Hub hates having his picture taken.. also, he was drunk and freezing at the Sox game Sunday night
Remember that blood test I thought I was getting yesterday? It's not until MONDAY. This is going to be a long weekend.
The Good News:
|My Family! Minus mom- here is hub and me with my brother and dad :) We had AMAZING seats
My doctor is thrilled with everything about this cycle. My symptoms were minimal, but he DOES think that killer headache was a clomid induced migraine :( He said if we do clomid again he'll give me something for it. Otherwise, he said my symptoms were pretty minimal and when I said I would be willing to try it again he was very pleased and told me that based on my symptoms, follicles, and lining he "really believes" we'll get pregnant one of these clomid cycles! About the follicles and lining, as I mentioned before the follicles were 22 and 24mm. The lining, I found out yesterday was 10.75 when the consider 5 to be healthy!!
I am going to leave you with this morning's pee stick and then update this post later. I know some of you are dying of anticipation but remember those 2 projects I had due today? Yeah- didn't do either of them.
|12DPO fmu


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Only the rakyat can bring about the change for the better come general election 13.
Sadly such news is never reported in the govt-controlled media, which focuses on the in-fighting within PR parties.
Slightly more than two years ago, Majlis Perbandaran Seberang Perai (MPSP) was ailing financially. Remember MPSP having to absorb responsibility for the white elephant called the Batu Kawan stadium built by the previous administration despite protests from local civil activists? Remember the over-priced spanking new MPSP building which cost them RM80 million when the same building could have been built at under RM40 million?
The MPSP was a different creature all together then. Then it was a creation of corrupt politicians (and their appointees) who wielded the reins of power in Penang . But thankfully not anymore since 2008.
Just to give you an idea about MPSP's finances, look at the chart below.
MPSP Surplus/(Deficit)
2000 - (RM5.1 million)
2001 - (RM31.2 million)
2002 - (RM36.7 million)
2003 - (RM39.0 million)
2004 - (RM48.9 million)
2005 - (RM57.1 million)
2006 - (RM5.4 million)
2007 - (RM5.1 million)
2008 - RM3.0 million
2009 - RM14.6 million
2010 - RM54.39 million (as at 4 October 2010)
Now tell me who are the better administrators, where public money is concerned and should be used for the public, and those who regard public money as "loot" to be shared amongst themselves and their cronies?
Imperfect as Pakatan Rakyat may be at the moment, at least they don't steal from us and the public's money is being protected and enhanced by appointed professionals! To the detractors of PR, yes I agree their problems may be unpalatable to many of us who yearn for meaningful change from race politics and self-interests but surely they are the ONLY choice when we only have a rock and a hard place to choose from, given the present electorate's indifference and ignorance.
Penang exceeded RM1 billion in revenue in 2009 which is 1st time in 52years. Convincing proof that voting for change can only bring good to the people. Must really rid the country of the gutter rats and leeches who have sucked the country dry to the point of being bankrupt through corruption and power abuse.
Do you still want to continue to vote these parasites into power like it has been happening over the last 50 more years?
While Pahang which Governed by Barisan Nasional for past 52 years is facing bankruptcy.
Penang is praised by Global Anti-Corruption watchdog Transparency International for its anti corruptions efforts.
What makes Malaysia all of a sudden to be ranked on 47 out 180 countries? Answer : The Malaysian people made the right choice by denying 2/3 majority enjoyed by Barisan Nasional all this years. It's a well check and balance by Pakatan on Barisan that led to this 47th position.
If Malaysians wants to enjoy this, then you should know what to do in the next election!
Anyway congrats to Pakatan led by DAP in Penang. In just 18 months CM Lim turned around Penang into corrupt free State. Shame on BN & ex-CM Dr Koh of Gerakan.
As ex-Gerakan President Lim KY had said: "BN/Gerakan has lost Penang forever."
RM 10 billion in losses from corruption per year is a huge sum and there must be greater commitment from the Federal Government towards fighting corruption to ensure that 27 million Malaysians can benefit from this RM10 billion dividend from successfully combating corruption.
Global corruption watchdog, Transparency International (TI), has ranked Malaysia as the 47th least corrupt nation in the world and commended the island state of Penang for its anti-corruption efforts.
Denmark, New Zealand and Sweden was listed by TI as the top three least corrupt countries as measured by the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), which ranks countries in terms of the degree to which businessmen and country analysts perceive corruption to exist among public officials and politicians.
Singapore , Finland , Switzerland , Iceland , Netherlands , Australia and Canada rounded off the top least corrupt countries.
Malaysia came in 47th out of 180 countries in the index, tied with Hungary and Jordan.
The CPI is part of TI's Global Corruption Report (GCR) 2009 released yesterday.
In its report on Malaysia, TI highlighted the Malaysian practice of the "revolving door" whereby individuals move from government to business, or business to politics, and back again, and estimated that corruption could cost Malaysia as much as RM10 billion a year.
"Significant government participation in the private sector and considerable business participation in politics means that the movement of gatekeepers to players and players to gatekeepers has a negative influence on the concept of checks and balances," said TI.
"The complexity of the relationships between politics and the public and private sectors means that corruption may take place with impunity. Until drastic action is taken to separate the cozy relationship between government, business and politics, the anti-corruption effort will remain no more than a token gesture," said TI.
Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng says he is humbled by the recognition by TI and added that he was concerned over the fact that that corruption could cost Malaysia as much as RM10 billion a year – an amount equivalent to 1 or 2% of GDP as pointed out by the GCR when it cited the findings of the special government business facilitation task force Pemudah and the World Bank.
Additional report contents that were of concern to Lim was Malaysia's per capita spending of only RM5 on anti-corruption efforts and the fact that only about 10%, or just 7,223 potential corruption cases, of the total 71,558 reported between 2000 and 2006 were investigated by the Anti Corruption Agency, the precursor of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission, with a conviction rate of less than one percent.
"The GCR 2009 concluded that this illustration of the Malaysian government's inaction in the light of the serious corruption allegations, along with its seeming inability to catch the big fish instead focusing on the small fry, suggests that what anti-corruption efforts exist are mere tokens," said Lim.
"RM 10 billion in losses from corruption per year is a huge sum and there must be greater commitment from the Federal government towards fighting corruption to ensure that 27 million Malaysians can benefit from this RM 10 billion dividend from successfully combating corruption."
Lim also today announced that the state has managed to cut about RM36 million or 12% of in operating expenditure this year due to its efforts to curb corruption.
"Transparency International' s recognition of anti-corruption efforts by the Penang state government through CAT (Competency Accountability And Transparency) governance is backed up by savings of nearly 12 per cent of the 2008 Penang state budget of RM 36 million from operating expenditure. This RM 36 million savings has allowed the state government to carry out social programs and implement its people-oriented government," said Lim.
TI said that the Penang state is the first Malaysian state government to implement the open tender system for government procurement and contracts.
It also recognized the state government's directive barring administrators and state executive councilors from making any new land applications and efforts to attract professionals to serve on various boards, such as the Penang State Appeals Board.
"On behalf of the Penang state government, we feel humbled by the recognition given by a world renowned body such as Transparency International and would redouble efforts to ensure the anti-corruption reforms are institutionalized and ensure more professionals are appointed to key bodies. Fighting corruption generates savings for the people," said Lim.
He added that the two local authorities in Penang are expected to save another RM34 million over three years from a transparent negotiation over the price of solid waste disposal that reduced the rates agreed to by the previous Barisan Nasional administration by a further 42.4 per cent.
Lim said that the savings would go towards the state government's "3E" programme to "enable" the people with skills and knowledge so that they have an equal opportunity to create wealth, "empower" them with fundamental rights and basic freedoms, and "enrich" the people by sharing wealth and economic benefits.
Now it is Penang Boleh - vote wisely for a better Malaysia .


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Sportmen's Barber Shop is located at 132 N Almont Ave, Imlay City, MI. This business specializes in Barbers.
Sportmens Barber Shop can be found at N Almont Ave 132. The following is offered: Hair Salons. The entry is present with us since Sep 9, 2010 and was last updated on Nov 14, 2013. In Imlay City there are 2 other Hair Salons. An overview can be found here.


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By Dave Warner
PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) - A Philadelphia jury began its fifth day of deliberations on Monday in the murder trial of a doctor accused of killing babies and a patient during late-term abortions at a clinic serving low-income women.
Dr. Kermit Gosnell, 72, who ran the now-shuttered Women's Medical Society Clinic, could face the death penalty if convicted by the jury in Common Pleas Court in Philadelphia.
The seven-woman, five-man jury heard five weeks of testimony before starting deliberations last Tuesday. After having the weekend off, the panel reconvened at about 8:30 a.m. on Monday.
Gosnell is charged with four counts of first-degree murder for delivering live babies during late-term abortions and then deliberately severing their spinal cords, prosecutors said.
It is legal in Pennsylvania to abort a fetus up to 24 weeks into a pregnancy. Gosnell also faces charges that he performed 24 abortions beyond 24 weeks.
Judge Jeffrey Minehart told jurors last week that state law defines a live baby as one that is fully expelled from the mother and showing signs of life such as breathing, heart beat or movement.
Gosnell's defense contends there is no evidence the babies were alive after they were aborted.
Testimony depicted a filthy clinic serving mostly low-income women in a largely black community.
Gosnell also is charged with murdering Karnamaya Mongar, 41, of Virginia, who died from a drug overdose after going to him for an abortion, prosecutors said.
Gosnell has been in jail since his January 2011 arrest. Eight other defendants have pleaded guilty to a variety of charges and are awaiting sentencing. They include Gosnell's wife, Pearl, a cosmetologist who helped perform abortions.
(Editing by Ellen Wulfhorst and Doina Chiacu)


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Hell Yeahhhh!!!@!~ (to answer the question above).
First and foremost thank you for coming by here to read this. There are ber-bolog-bolog (new word thee hee@!~) blogs out there but you still choose my blog to spend "5 minutes" (of your working hours =P) reading it.
You people are too kind.
Aku sudah kembali bekerja (di bawah paras normal). First day at work was.. well .. agak terharuuu. I miss everyone terribly, you have no idea and to know that you have been missed by them, is double haru (kes aku terkinja-kinja dalam opis berjubah itam-cokelat), eh double terharuuuuu@!~
So bigggg LOVE to everyone and I AM BACK@!~
So dah start keja dan dah ada bebee neh apa je kerja aku lagi selain bersiar-siar "5 minit" di alam maya. I was surfing a lot of breastfeeding sites and came across what I think may be happening with Anis Manis and me. It is called reverse cycling (takde kene mengena dengan naik beskal atau diet program akuk yang aku pasti takan start sampai bebila).
Ini yang aku baca..
Reverse cycling is a term that is used to describe the nursing pattern of a baby who nurses a lot in evening and (or) night time hours rather than the "normal" daytime hours.
This pattern usually arises when the normal pattern of day time nursing is disrupted for some reason. It can be related to distractibility in the baby, a stressful or busy day for mother where she may have not taken time to sit down and nurse like she normally does, or for working moms, it can arise when mother returns to work.
The Working Mom
A working mom can be confused by a baby who is reverse cycling because she is providing the baby nourishment while she is away at work by leaving pumped milk or formula, yet baby still wakes often at night to nurse. It is very important for moms to realize that nursing a baby is not "just" about food.
Babies who are away from mom for any period of time often have a great need or desire to "reconnect" with her, and thus baby "reverse-cycles", but it may not be "all about" nutritional needs.
Other times baby will simply take enough expressed breastmilk to hold them over until they are reunited with mom (No wonder Anis asik tido je kat Nursery). Moms may worry about the meager amount of milk baby takes in during the day, however, if the baby has unrestricted access to the breast at night and nurses often, then baby almost always takes in enough milk for optimal growth and development. Allowing baby to reverse cycle often helps mom maintain milk supply when she is working, especially if she has limited time to pump milk during her workday.
A working mom may find that if baby reverse cycles, she may not need to pump as much breastmilk for baby to have at the sitter. Baby sort of goes into low gear, sometimes sleeping more while at the sitters and then when reunited with mother, baby will nurse frequently to sate the nutritional and emotional needs. In the book Nursing Mother, Working Mother, by Gale Pryor, it is noted:
"In studying working mothers and their babies, Irene Frederick and Kathleen Auerbach found that many well-attached babies sleep for longer periods during their mothers' absence and are wakeful when their mothers are present. These babies simply shift their schedules to nurse frequently when their mothers are available, and consequently may not need to be fed more than twice during an eight-hour separation."
Keep in mind as long as baby is wetting plenty of diapers, stooling regularly, gaining well (Anis Manis is going 5 kgs yo!!@!~), and otherwise is doing fine, then baby is getting enough milk.
Problems may arise, however, if mothers are eager to enforce a "sleep schedule" onto the baby - then baby doesn't get enough milk at daycare, nor in the nighttime hours, and baby also does not get as much "mommy time" as they might otherwise. This can result in low supply for mom, and a fussy, unhappy baby.
Fuh fuh.
Breath Jiji.


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Consolidation is the single most important issue to face voters in the east Halifax area in years. The choice on Oct. 15 is simple -- you vote yes if you favor consolidation; you vote no if you oppose it. Although the selection of a lever may be simple, the issues behind the consolidation movement are complex. I have studied and analyzed consolidation and I have not found one good, valid reason for it.
In fact, the arguments for consolidation are philosophically, fundamentally and diametrically opposed. One city will not solve water or sewer problems; we will not use less water combined that we do singly. One city will not give us better growth management. It will make growth easier. One council member representing 13,300 people instead of 3,000 will not bring government closer to the people. It will make it more difficult for you to be heard.


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Super Junior's Yesung revealed past pictures that he took with his handsome looking brother Kim Jong Jin.
In the afternoon of February 9, Yesung uploaded two pictures and tweeted, "Past pictures of the brothers revealed! Hahaha."
In the black and white picture, Yesung is showing off his pretty appearance. In the other picture, they seem to be in a wedding hall. Their appearances that somehow look similar yet different attracted many netizens' attention.
Netizens commented: "Your younger brother is so handsome!" "Is he going to debut in the entertainment industry?" "You both are handsome." "Brothers sure look alike!" "You both have different atmospheres but are both handsome!" "Yesung looks like the younger one."
Source: TV Report
via en.korea.com


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Mommy Break
Alright. It's been baby stuff all week here and I think we all deserve a little break :)
I've made two shoe purchases this week...
1. I spotted these amazing Report Kimball flats on Melis this week and I just HAD to have them. Melis, promise I won't wear them at the same time!!
2. Not really sure why, but my converse sneaks are not very comfortable. I've never really understood why coz isn't that the point of wearing sneakers? Anyway, I'm hoping it'll be a different story with these Bensimon Elastique Tennis Flats (Gris Moyen).
I also bought a couple of maternity ribbed layering tanks from Old Navy (they're perfect and cheap) - got tired of my belly peeking out :) Love this burnout super-soft tank but they didn't have my size.


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So the holiday season is here and you are either dating someone new, dating someone for some time now or married. What do you do? As a woman who is dating during the holidays and a woman who has been single during the holidays I have to say that being single on the holidays can suck big time and dating during the holidays can be a headache.
However, I do know that the purpose of the holidays is to bring families and loved ones together. So with that rationale in mind, it is important to spend time with not only your family but to make time to spend with your special someone because that's what holidays are about and if you are dating someone who is really into the holidays they will want to include you. Including your special someone in your holidays is a sign of affection, love, commitment and is a sign of the degree of your relationship. So their are some things to consider by degrees:
You just started dating (Cold- Make time for each other):
If you just started dating someone within a couple weeks or a couple months, then you might want to hold off on inviting them to your families house for the holidays or introducing them to all your friends. Reason being, you might not be emotionally attached yet. You might not know where the dating is going with this person. You don't have a commitment to each other yet (or if you do its fairly fresh) and you might be dating more than one person. Remember dating doesn't mean commitment until you both say so. However, if you are dating someone that you really like, set aside a special date to share the holiday spirit together. Do not neglect the chance to spend a romantic evening with the person you are dating during the holidays. It shows that you enjoy spending time with them and you are interested in spending this special time of year with them. It also may be a milestone in your relationship and the beginning of something more (if that's what you want).
You have been dating for awhile now (Warm- Compromise how you spend the holidays):
Once you have passed the 6th month mark of dating someone exclusively, the holidays are a good time to start incorporating the person you are committed to with the people that mean the most to you (family and friends). Now this is something that is taken pretty seriously, so before you take this step, talk to each other about your families and friends, holiday traditions and your relationship. Some people at this time in their relationship are still taking things slow and that is understandable but make sure that you are both on the same page about what your desires are for the holidays when it comes to each other and COMPROMISE. If your families are in different cities then it may be hard to spend the holidays with both of your families, so you might compromise to spend Christmas with his family and New Years with hers. Or you can go your separate ways to your families on Christmas Day and have a post-Christmas party with friends. Including each other is very important during holidays and all other special occasions (birthdays, anniversaries, weddings and more) and lets hope you don'[t have a Meet the Parents embarassing movie moment! Do not miss the opportunity to turn the holidays into ROMANCE for the two of you. If you don't take the step to spend these occasions together then you're really saying that you don't take the relationship serious enough to include them in times that are important and special to You and we don't want that to be the message to your "special" someone.
You are married (Hot- Its about the TWO of You):
You are now married. Unless your families simply can't get along or your families live far apart from each other (or you are in the service out the country) there is no reason that you should not be sharing the holidays or other special moments with your spouse. None! Even if any of these are the case, the holidays are about You, Your spouse and the family the two of You are building. Make sure you spend these times together. You can spend Christmas morning at home with your spouse (and kids) opening gifts with hot chocolate and a great breakfast and then go to his or her house for dinner. It would be awesome if you can split time with each others family for dinner but that isn't always possible. The point: Sharing the holidays should now be your tradition together. Being married means that you are now "family," maybe even more than you are with the rest of your family. A marriage is a bond that can not and should not be broken so you should want to spend the holidays together and all other special times together any way you can. These moments not only reinforce your commitment to each other but to the family you are starting, building and combining. It is also a great opportunity to have some holiday ROMANCE fun!
Next blog will be on how to make the holidays Romantic so start thinking of ideas with your special someone to do so! Until then here are some articles I found when googling this subject:
and I promise this video is hilariously funny! Enjoy


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Sunday, April 15, 2012
Too much stuff!
Anyone out there have any tips/tricks on how to make the sorting process easier? Or how to get kids to be more willing to get rid of things that you know they don't want or need?
1 comment:
These aren't "my" idea's, but a friend of mine goes through her kids things twice a year...before birthday and before Christmas. They go through toys and must get rid of everything they've not played with actively in the last 30 days. They then go together as a family and donate all toys to a homeless shelter, women's shelter, church, etc. This helps the kids see that their things are going to kids who are less fortunate. She goes through their closet every season. She pulls out things that they've outgrown or never wear, if she can pass it down to a younger sibling it's passed down otherwise she does 1 of 3 things...gives items to a friend of theirs who has a child that can fit the clothes, donates to homeless or womens shelter, or if it's a high quality clothing, put it up on Ebay (which she's done very well on, selling her kids clothing).ReplyDelete
She has done this since they were babies, so it's all they know, but I'm sure after the first time the kids will see what they're doing is good and not fight you about it.


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On to the switch! I particpated in the Magical Product Swap hosted by Jessica Stanford. You can find her blog here!
My switch partner was Andrea at Right Down the Middle. You can also find her TPT Store here!
I received Andrea's fabulous "Welcome to Middle School" year end activity. This product is designed for 8th graders, but is easily adapted to any grade level that you might want to do a "Welcome to...." theme with. It can be "Welcome to Middle School" or "Welcome to your class"- it all works! Since I have the elective class at my middle school, we only have our students for a semester, then we switch students. So, I can use this product with a slight modification to "Welcome to Middle School" OR "Welcome to Middle School Electives" at the half way point.
Andrea's product contains the original directions, a grading rubic (LOVE IT!) and some student samples of work. It's easy for students to read and straight to the point, which my students appreciate. (I used slightly pixelated pics, so you can't ID any student faces. And the giant knight is Bob our school mascot, he was a guest in our room the last week of the semester.)
Also, this product is very easy to adapt to a technology classroom. When I switched to a technology elective, a lot of products are difficult to adapt to my classroom. However, having my students create Welcome to Middle School items on the computer allows them to "show off" all the technology of what they learned throughout the semester. It's very cool. My students wrote poems, created Middle School brochures, used animoto to create different ways to tell other students what middle school would be like!
All in all, I HIGHLY recommend this product to you! It's a great project as the semester is winding down and you and your students are ready for break! It allows the kids to be creative, but still allows you control of the projects they design.


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Paint it "Black"
I think I'd much prefer dental surgery or a procedure in the "family jewels" area to taking part in the annual running of the sheep known as Black Friday. For the uninitiated, that's the day (today) when people get up at the crack of dawn (actually well before it) in order to avail themselves of "great holiday bargains" offered by retailers. Some stores open at midnight, others in the wee hours of the morning, and crowds of people press their noses against the windows waiting to get in. To me, it's a lot like the bread lines in Russia during the old Soviet days. I'm sure there are some savings to be had and some hard-to-get gifts to obtain, but it's just not worth it to me. If I can't afford to buy something without the early-bird discount, I'll just pass. If some "hot" gift is sold out, I'll get something else. Seems to me that when I do my shopping late, the retailers are usually in a panicky mood and are offering good deals then, as well. But if all this hysteria is your idea of fun, enjoy. I also have a bone to pick with the people at Kohl's. They've been running a TV ad - incessantly, it seems to me - touting their 4 a.m. opening today. But the ad tells people to set their alarms for 4 a.m. so they can get to the big sale. If the sale starts at 4, shouldn't they be setting their alarms a bit earlier? Better yet, just stay up and knock back a few until it's time to go. A couple of stiff drinks sure couldn't hurt.
Labels: Life in General


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Television's Impact on Kids
Television is one of the most prevalent media influences in kids' lives. According to Kids' Take on Media, a survey conducted in 2003 by the Canadian Teachers' Federation, watching TV is a daily pastime for 75 percent of Canadian children, both boys and girls from Grade 3 to Grade 10.
How much impact TV has on children depends on many factors: how much they watch, their age and personality, whether they watch alone or with adults, and whether their parents talk with them about what they see on TV.
To minimize the potential negative effects of television, it's important to understand what the impact of television can be on children. Below you will find information on some areas of concern.
The Media Awareness Network
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Leia também David Buckingham: A Formidable Achievement in Media Education clicando aqui.


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NR, 84 min.
Directors: Barbara Brancaccio, Joshua Zeman
Writer: Joshua Zeman
Featuring: Joshua Zeman, Barbara Brancaccio, Dr. Bill Ellis, Dorothy D'Elletto, Karen Schweiger, Donna Cutugno, Ralph Aquino, Bobby Jenson, Andre Rand, Jim Callahan, Theresa Doyle
So we open Horrorfest this year with a documentary about a real life horror tale of an urban legend that turned out to be true, however the truth of it all is impossible to determine. Growing up on Staten Island, the filmmakers remember stories of Cropsey, an insane killer that would snatch kids if they were out too late in places they didn't belong. Only once they were adults did they learn that these were not merely stories designed to make sure kids were home and safe when their parents wanted them home.


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Tuesday, 30 December 2014
Inspired by Wanda
I loved Wanda's take on this canvas, so I altered just a bit to make a card. I also changed the colours and used Fresco paints, Dolly Mix, Candy Floss, Spanish Mulberry and a little bit of Chalk, also a spot of mixing of colours, as you do.I used Darcy's stamps EDY10, I love this stamp set and used it quite a lot. Finally I added Liquid Pearls Petal Pink and a piece of ribbon from the stash!!!
Thanks for looking.
Monday, 29 December 2014
Thank you
Oh dear another month has past and no blogs, very bad blogger, resolution for 2015 get organised and blog.
I had a lovely Christmas with family so now is the time to say some thank yous, so I have done a few cards ready to write and send, mostly they are using things that I found on the side of my desk and a few stamps, JOFY ones, my favourites.
Thanks for look and I promise to improve in 2015!!!
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Mystery writer Joe Gores dies at 79 in California USAHammett," "Come Morning" and "Spade & Archer" — has died at age 79.
A stepson says Gores died Monday. The San Francisco Chronicle and Los Angeles Times say he died of a stomach hemorrhage.
Gores wrote 16 novels and three collections of stories during his more than 40-year writing career. He may be best known for "Spade & Archer: The Prequel to Dashiell Hammett's 'The Maltese Falcon,'" which was published in 2009.
Gores also wrote TV scripts for "Kojak" and "Columbo."
His first novel, "A Time of Predators," about a Stanford professor turned commando, won the Edgar Award for best first novel from the Mystery Writers of America when it was published in 1969.
Information from: Los Angeles Times, http://www.latimes.com/
Bullitt director Peter Yates dies at 81
British film-maker Peter Yates, who directed such movies as Bullitt and Summer Holiday, has died aged 81.
According to his agent, he died in London on Sunday after an illness.
Bullitt, released in 1968, featured a famous chase scene in which Steve McQueen drove a Ford Mustang through San Francisco.
Yates was nominated for the best director Oscar in 1980 for Breaking Away, and again in 1984 for The Dresser.
He is survived by his wife Virginia Pope, a son and a daughter.
The family will hold a private funeral, his agent Judy Daish continued.
A graduate of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, Yates started out as an actor before becoming an assistant director on such films as The Guns of Navarone and A Taste of Honey.
He made his directorial debut in 1963 with Cliff Richard vehicle Summer Holiday, going on to make episodes of The Saint and Danger Man.
Bullitt features a famous car chase scene with Steve McQueen, pictured left
In 1967 he wrote and directed Robbery, a heist film inspired by the Great Train Robbery of 1963.
Bullitt, his first US film, followed a year later, casting McQueen as the head of a police unit guarding a man about to testify against his mobster brother.
Following its success, Yates worked with Mia Farrow and Dustin Hoffman on 1969 romantic drama John and Mary, and with Peter O'Toole on Murphy's War two years later.
His other films included The Friends of Eddie Coyle with Robert Mitchum, Mother, Jugs & Speed with Raquel Welch and The Deep starring Jacqueline Bisset.


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It's one of the healthy and yummy recipe of Kerala Cuisine. This recipe serves as a best after school snack for your kids and it requires just 5 to 10 minutes of preparation time.
I have used beaten red rice flakes, you can substitute it with white rice flakes too, however the red one is rich in Iron content.
Also you can substitute sugar instead of Jaggery.
I like to add more milk and have it like... how we have cornflakes :), if you too prefer that way go ahead and add one more cup of milk to this recipe.
Aval / Poha / Beaten Rice flakes (Red or White) - 1 Cup
Jaggery - 1/2 Cup
Fresh Grated coconut - 1/2 cup
Milk - Approximately 2 cups / To mix the Aval
Cardamon - 2 pinch
Banana - 1 no (Sliced)
Wash the Aval and drain the water completely.
Mix the Aval with Jaggery, Cardamom, Grated coconut and milk
Allow to get the aval soaked in milk for 5 to 10 minutes.
Now the Sweet Rice Flake is Ready. Serve it with Banana slices.


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Richard Louth
PhD, MA, University of Virginia. BA, Brown University.
Selected Publications:
Editor. The Writing Marathon: "In Good Company Revealed." Raleigh, NC: LULU.com. 2011.
Editor. Katrina: In Their Own Words. Southeastern Louisiana Writing Project. 2006.
Co-authored with Elizabeth Curtin. How to Teach Freshman Composition. Fort Worth, TX: Harcourt Brace College Publishers, 1994.
Co-edited with Ann Martin Scott. Collaborative Technical Writing: Theory and Practice. St. Paul, MN: Association of Teachers of Technical Writing, 1989.
Selected Shorter Publications:
"New Orleans in Words." Louisiana Literature 28.1 (2011): 40-106.
"Francesca." Country Roads (June 2010): 33-35.
"The Muses at Molly's." Word and Image: Invitations to a Culture of Composition. Eds. Jeff Wiemelt, Natasha Whitton, and Jayetta Slawson. Boston: Pearson, 2010. 941-44.
"Growing Pains." Country Roads (June 2007): 50-53.
"Katrina in Words: Writing the Storm." Journal of College Writing 9 (2007): 62-70.
"12:42 P.M." and "8:42 P.M." Louisiana in Words. Ed. Joshua Clark. Gretna, LA: Pelican Press, 2007. 59, 152.
Co-authored with Tom Thompson. "Radical Sabbaticals: Putting Yourself in Danger." College Composition and Communication 55.1 (September 2003): 147-171.
"The New Orleans Writing Marathon." The Quarterly 24.1 (2002): 3-9.
Selected other Professional Activities and Achievements:
2001: President's Award for Excellence in Teaching
2001: Louisiana Endowment "Special Humanities Award"
1997: Distinguished Professor of Arts and Sciences (1997-2000)
1997: Co-Chair, NCTE Conference, New Orleans, "Conflict and Consensus in the Portfolio Movement"
1992-2011: Founding Director of Southeastern Louisiana Writing Project
1991: Dean's Award for Excellence in Teaching
1990-2005: Coordinator of English Proficiency
1988-2005: Director of Freshman English


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This Friday at The Cozy Cottage webstore, I'm featuring a wonderful Vintage Linen Lot in Cottage Rose Pink! It includes vintage doiles, a sweet butterfly runner, a guest towel, and a cottage chic pink rose printed tablecloth! And for the weekend only, it's on sale!
Please check out the rest of the wonderfully vintage items at The Cozy Cottage where it's always cottage chic!


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This is a picture that I wanted to show you all but couldn't until now as it was a Christmas gift for someone. With this piece I have used the Gelli Plate to make a reflection...so much easier using the Gelli Plate for this!
I stamped my Trees and the Deer onto the Gelli Plate which I had mounted onto the Clarity Mega Mount (fabulous thing). I then used the Gelli Plate like a stamp and stamped onto my card. I then turned my image around and then this time stamped my Trees and Deer directly onto the card.
I added some 'banking' along the waters edge using my mini Fern and one of the mini Leaves from a remountable set.
I covered the 'land' with copy paper and went to work on the water. This was done using a Brayer, scrunched up copy paper, two shades of Memento Ink: Nautical Blue and Summer Sky. The same colours were used with the Brayer (minus the copy paper) for the sky. I used the Yellow ink from a Big n Juicy Pad - Soothing Sunset with a Stencil Brush. The deer are stamped in Adirondack Black, the Trees and Foliage are stamped in Memento - Olive Grove. I drew in the small birds in flight with a Black Micron Pen.
I added more foliage to the top and bottom of the picture using Olive Grove again and then with a make-up sponge I added a bit more shading using Memento - Pistachio.
I decided at the last minute to add a bit more shading and foliage to the waters edge with the mini remountable leaf before framing.
All the products that I have used to create this picture, from the Stamps, Card, tools to ink have all been supplied by Clarity Stamp. If anyone wishes details for anything I have used, leave a comment and I will forward you the details. I usually do a link for each product but as blogger is playing up and it has taken me nearly a week to get this posted I just wanted to keep going before it stalled on me again...apologies!
I hope you like it.
I am entering this picture into the Clarity Stamp Challenge for December as the challenge is Trees.
Good luck to everyone in all their challenges and I hope that you all have a wonderful 2015.
Hugs to all


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We can be ONE, if we will believe in the spree..
if we will think beyond YOU and ME..
And only if we will rise as a TIDE..
Or we will capitulate as a DROP left in the dry..
How malefic is the idea of dividing people on the base of anything..??..Be it religion..caste..language..Our country stands on the disguised pillars of the thoughts being imbued in the three words of "UNITY IN DIVERSITY"...These three words corrode my mind constantly and every time I assuage it by few balmy hackneyed arguments favoring MY COUNTRY..The appeasement does work for some time but the IMPREGNABLE QUESTION constantly reiterates like a pendulum..ARE WE UNITED??..
The answer is straight NO??..I say..How can we even talk of being united in a country like ours divided on almost each and every aspect of humanity..??..I don't see any other country with so much of segregation..Let me throw some light on that argument..
India has more than two thousand ethnic groups...India contains the majority of the world's Zoroastrians, Sikhs, Hindus, Jains and Bahá'í...India is also home to the third-largest Muslim population in the world after Indonesia and Pakistan... There are 1,652 languages and dialects spoken in India..So many castes and their sub-castes..and their sub-sub-castes are existent..
As is written by LOUIS FISCHER in his biography of MAHATMA GANDHI..
..Blood Connects Hindus with Muslims and Sikhs. Religion weakens the connection... Geography connects; bad communication divides..The multiplicity of Languages divides..
However..This is the place we live in..We brag about our diversities..but our pellucid shroud of UNITY can not hide the injured and scathed HUMAN inside..PUBLIC MASSACRES on the basis of Religion..LANGUAGE DIVIDE making Social Development impossible and even resulting into GEOGRAPHICAL DIVISIONS...The virulent CASTE-ISM which in plain words is unfathomably deep rooted and hence can not be deracinated.. These are some ludicrous problems which are insignificantly insalubrious for the upliftment and uprising of a country like ours, already marred with obstacles of POVERTY, ILLITERACY, CORRUPTION and UNEMPLOYMENT to name a few..
The moment we impose a DEMARCATION..the idea of UNITY dies..A nation can either be UNITEDLY DEVELOPED or DIS-UNITEDLY REPEALED..The earlier we understand that, the better it will be for us..Else the choice is OURS..
IMAGE SOURCE: http://bhgrealestateblog.com/2009/02/20/revisiting-the-question-of-diversity-in-real-estate/


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Answer II: Why Did The Farmer Go To The Winery?
Answer: The farmer went to the winery to make wine! A visit to a typical winery in France makes this obvious. During a visit to Chateau Prieure Lichine in the 1980s, I was first greeted in the courtyard by hens and roosters running about. There was no obvious Chateau or tasting room, just a group of outbuildings clustered around the courtyard with all kinds of farm equipment scattered about. Talking with winemaker, Frank Roth, confirms this. Frank works for orchidist, Mike Tagaris, one of the biggest exporter of Fuji Apples to Korea. All grapegrowers are farmers, and any winery that has estate grown grapes is by definition a farm, unless it is a factory detached from the vineyards. Even the fanciest Chateau in France, while showing a great facade, behind it all, is a farm. It is unfortunate, that some wineries now resemble a retail boutique in a mall rather than a farm. It is even more unfortunate, that so many wines are homogenized in their flavors. The flavor has been removed from so many foods such as pork and eggs, and more and more so from wine. We should be thankful to the devoted farmers who bring us grapes with character and wines with character. Of course, especially in Washington, there are farmers who only grow grapes, and winemakers who only make wine.


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Josh Holloway in Florence, Italy, 2007
Posted by lyly ford at 3/30/2008 11:10:00 am 12 CommentsJosh Holloway
Welcome to LOST Media Media Mentions
This part of the site contained articls relating to LOST and the Cast/Crew being mentioned in the media.
Now that Lost is long gone unfortunately, we've decided that this part of the site will no longer be updated. However, all posts that would have been posted here will be posted here on the main Homepage. All existing content will remain as it is.


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Progress on this painting has ceased as Ive run out of paint again. Its an expensive hobby this. Ive used an entire bottle of white paint in 3 hours. Not really sure where to go with this but Im going to leave it for today and see what happens.
Friday, 29 October 2010
Wednesday, 27 October 2010
Just A Bit Of Fun
Saturday, 23 October 2010
Wednesday, 20 October 2010
Fancied a wee change. Unlike most of my other paintings this is land not sea, and bright not dark and moody. This piece is unfinished think needs some touch ups.
Written by Virginia Maggio at 10:01 No comments:
Monday, 11 October 2010
Sunday, 10 October 2010
La Vie En Rose
This is a little sunset painted on canvas board. It is thin enough to be framed or could be hung as it is. Paint was applied really thick and colour choice is the result of running out of blue paint. Size A2.
Friday, 8 October 2010
Air Born
I dont really know what to say about this piece. Its just my mad imagination. Again its Acrylic on canvas. Quite a large piece. Think the air balloon may be in trouble.
Lightening House.
Ive ran out of blue paint for just now so the seas and sky's are out of fashion for just now. This painting is sadly already sold but just letting you all have a wee look. Its a light house in a lightening storm. Canvas was 4 different paintings before this final outcome so the paint is very thick and textured.
Wednesday, 6 October 2010
Caught In The Distance.
This is the first of a series of little paintings im going to put up for sale at around £25. They will be great for christmas presents. They are about A5 in size and painted with acrylic on canvas.
Monday, 4 October 2010
So after the weekends excitement its back to studying and painting. This is a little (huge) something im working on. Basically i want it to be a really cloudy sky with a cheeky bird but all sort of smudged to make it look like its raining. This is the idea anyways...quite often i start off painting something and it comes out an entirely different thing. I feel this one may take all week so ill keep you all posted on how its going.
Saturday, 2 October 2010
My First Painting Sold.
Well ill tell you, im the happiest person alive. I sold my first painting today and i almost cried. It is the middle left picture and by next week it will be off to a new home. This must mean i'm an artist now. What a smile haha.
Written by Virginia Maggio at 11:01 1 comment:
Labels: acrylic, canvas, exhibition, gallery, me
Artist Studio Open Day.
Today i have some of my work exhibited at wasps art studio open day at West Park Place in Dalry Edinburgh. 11-5 Sat 12-5 Sun. If you like my work come see it in the flesh. There is an added bonus of nice cake and soup at the wee cafe.
Friday, 1 October 2010
This is another peacock painting. I work from imagination so i seem to end up painting the same things. I names this painting Parisa as the name means bird of paradise and it is also my best friends name. I like the colours but would have like a few warmer tones to be present. I may go back to this painting to touch it up.
I textured this canvas before i painted on it using thick lines of acrylic paint. I then painted over this which gives it an nice rough look. Due to the camera quality i dont think it is obvious in this picture. There is not much in the painting but i felt it was finished and i try to stick with my instinct with paintings in fear i may over work them.
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Accelerated Value Announcement: WAS Alert affecting ICS Products !
WebSphere Plugin Key & Password Expiration 4/26
Overview: WAS Support posted two Flash Alerts to customers about Expirations on 4/26. These expirations could have significant impact to production environments if not addressed. The following alert applies to all products that are built on top of WebSphere Application Server, for example: Portal, Sametime, Connections, and Quickr J.
ACTION: Make sure that your customers are aware of these items and the April 26th date .
1)The password to the Plugin-key.kdb file that is shipped with the WebSphere Plugin install will expire on April 26, 2012:
Please refer to the following link for additional details.
The impact of the "password expiration issue in the above flash" is that the https transport between the WebSphere plugin and back-end AppServers will stop working, if not resolved. It means that the Plugin-key.kdb (and the personal & signer certificates in it) will not be loaded during the plugin initialization and the https transport will not be used.
2) The personal certificate called "WebSphere Plugin Key" within the plugin-key.kdb that is shipped with the WebSphere Plugin install will expire on April 26, 2012:
Please refer to the following link for additional details.
This will affect those WebSphere AppServers that are configured to require SSL client authentication (SSL mutual authentication) and that are using the default WebSphere plug-in key. Most of our customers did not configure WebSphere AppServers to use SSL mutual authentication between the plug-in and WebSphere AppServers.


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Thursday, November 26, 2009
Wardman Park around the Holidays
Today, I am working Thanksgiving and it is so extremely slow here at the Marriott. This is my first job that I have had working on a holiday. I guess that comes hand in hand with working in the hospitality industry. It is interesting to witness serving our guests on a holiday and how different guests act towards us. We actually enjoy a stress free day, as most guests are much nicer to us regarding their rooms and their stay in general. I personally do not working when it is so slow, which at our hotel we rarely are. I was talking with another co-worker today and we discussed that since we are the largest hotel in DC and that we have high occupancy most of the time, it would be very difficult to go work at another hotel due to the fact that we might be extremely bored and feel less challenged. The best part about working at Wardman Park is the meeting so many people and how everyday is unexpected and different.
Posted by Chelsea Alkema at 8:52 AM No comments:
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Holiday Season
During this week we are hitting our last week of large conferences and conventions before the Thanksgiving holiday approaches. This is a time where our large front desk staff including managers shifts are cut down slightly due to the lack of guests traveling to our hotel around the holidays. I work Thanksgiving next week, as I won't be going home back to Arizona. I figure since my family is not around here for the holidays I would work to cover my co-workers who do have family around the D.C. area. This week is also very busy as Janet Napolitano and the Department of Homeland Security has a convention at the Wardman. It is wonderful to have the opportunity to see well know people come to our hotel. I think that being at Marriott Wardman Park has got me spoiled only due the fact that we are constantly busy, we have a great reputation, we have a long history and that we are the largest hotel in Washington D.C. I honestly do not think I could work at a smaller hotel now that I am so use to the structure and organization of Wardman Park. I feel like I would be bored if I was not checking in or out 700 to over 1000 people a day. We are all so fortunate to be interacting with so many people from the United States and Internationally. I have learned quite a lot about many types of people. Going into the holiday season our staff works just as hard to make an impact on our guests even if there are less of them. It cannot be easy to travel during the holiday season and our staff strives to make it that much easier for all of our guests.
Posted by Chelsea Alkema at 11:48 AM No comments:
Monday, November 9, 2009
New Projects
This week has been so fun and busy due to the fact that President Obama and the Prime Minister of Israel are planning on speaking at our hotel in D.C. to a large convention that we have in house. We have a high level of security at our hotel right now that it feels like we are at the airport. It is nice to work at a hotel that draws influential leaders from throughout the world. It has been inspiring and exciting to get to be in my position to witness it all. This week a couple of my managers also came to me to let me do mini projects other than my daily tasks of the front desk. It is nice to see that they trust me enough to let me do other projects. I did things like help with accounting/billing jobs, as well as other tasks to prepare for over 1000 people checking in one day. All of us front desk agents work hard everyday pulling long hours/overtime and it pays off when are managers recognize us. We also have great team building days that helps us recognize how hard we do work.
Posted by Chelsea Alkema at 5:01 PM No comments:
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Meeting with Corporate
I am really enjoying my time here at Wardman Park. I am feeling more comfortable with my job and what I need to do to be successful in dealing with guests and being able to work with co-workers and managers. I have acquired my own system on how I like my station set up and how I work with guests. My hotel is extremely busy right now as we have been sold out night after night, which brings great benefits for our hotel, but also establishes new challenges for the front desk staff as we are the ones that put people on wait status, or have to deal with a lack of rooms to give out due to a oversold situation. We are the mediators because we break the news to all guests and some are more understanding than others. This past week all the guest service represenatives had to meet with Marriotts Corporate Company as a group. The idea is to express concerns, questions and to be able to request for changes that will in return create a better enviornment at Wardman Park. As a group we got express our thoughts about each manager in our department, so that Corporate can see what needs to be fixed or altered in order to better serve and help their employees. We were all suprisingly on the same page on what needed to be changed and how the managers could better serve us at the Front Desk. It is nice to see that the Marriott Corporation lets our staff have a chance to voice our opinion in order for us to all improve as a whole. I asked one of the Corporate staff members how will we know if our feedback is actually going to in return show results and she said it takes time, but that is her job to inform General Managers and Assistant Managers of the concerns. In return they speak with the managers from our department and work with them to slowly alter certain situations in order to be more successful when we come to work everyday. The Marriott International is a well established company and has made a wonderful name for itself. I am glad that they are concerned enough to help us all to improve no matter what ranking we are with the company.
Posted by Chelsea Alkema at 9:30 AM No comments:
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Going Green
After a little more than two months working at Wardman Park everyday brings new people, new challenges and more learning experiences for me. Everyday I get better on how I talk and interact with guests. One project that are in the works is recycling more at the Marriott. Everyday we go through and throw away several amounts of key packets, folios(receipts), reports, faxes etc. Since our hotel is the biggest hotel in D.C. and we are still in the beginning process of transforming our hotel to becoming more green, it has been hard to regulate. We have some people focused on recycling everyday and some more laxed. We really don't have recycling cans in the hotel, so it makes it difficult for everyone to contribute. One way we ask guests to help out is that in every room we have a green bag for people to recycle if they choose. We have written verbage in their rooms explaining how to contribute and help out the environment. A little goes a long way and I hope that soon our hotel gets more recycling cans and contribute more ways to help the environment. Also, another way that the Marriott hotels in the local D.C. area have contributed to helping our community and environment was about two weeks ago when we had a coastal clean-up day. Our guest service represenative staff was the largest department their. We were pretty excited that we helped lead a positive example to others and show are community spirit.
Posted by Chelsea Alkema at 9:32 AM No comments:
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Week 8 : Empathize
I am going into my 8th week at Wardman Park and still learning so much. I really enjoy working here with all the accommodating co-workers constantly teaching me new ways to improve and master my hospitality skills. Today was an interesting day as I had to deal with a hostile guest and she was upset about not receiving a King bed over two Double Beds. We are a very busy hotel mostly hosting large conferences and conventions. We are sold out most of the time and we have more double bed rooms than kings. After coming off of a sold out night it is sometimes challenging giving guests king rooms unless they are guaranteed a king when they book their reservation. This lady that I dealt with today wanted a king and was not guaranteed one and was really hostile with me over getting a room with a king. She would not even let us explain or work with us trying to help her. Working here you really learn to appreciate not being picky and to try to understand when the shoe is on the other foot. We try to accommodate all of our guests, but it is those selected guests that really make work challenging for the staff. The one thing that I need to work on the most is to really try to stay calm. Sometimes I feel attacked when I deal with a hostile guest and then I get flustered on my words. At the Marriott we try to use the LEARN model when we deal with guests. LEARN stands for Listen, Empathize, Apologize, React and Notify. It makes it challenging when you do all that you can, empathize, apologize even if you are not in the wrong and you still have unhappy guests that are never satisfied when you go above and beyond to alleviate the problem. I wish that everyone could experience some type of hospitality or service industry job, so that they can understand what we go through everyday behind the scenes. It is a lot more challenging then it looks.
Posted by Chelsea Alkema at 5:29 PM No comments:
Thursday, September 24, 2009
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We finished the Coast to Coast on Wednesday, a strong finish with a 17 mile walk to complete the last stage (including a 33% climb that lasted for about 45 minutes at the start). It's been a challenging walk, much more so than I would have thought or planned for, but once the North Sea came into sight our steps quickened and our spirits lifted and we finished with no problems at all.
Yesterday and today, we're exploring York, and tonight we'll be in Manchester with a flight home tomorrow.
Thursday, June 15, 2006
Coast to Coast Completed
Posted by Piaw Na at 10:18 PM
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