And I miss a friend of mine. Or an ex friend? I'm not really sure.
His name is Chris. I met him a few years ago when he applied to work at the restaurant I managed. Like, the literal moment we met, we clicked. Same dark humor, same LGBT-forward identity, similar childhood baggage, and we just connected. I've only ever clicked like that with literally one other person in my entire life. And she's my hecking soulmate.
Chris was never my soulmate. Obviously. But we were tight. We tried new things together. Worked together. Hung out. Supported one another. He helped me figure out shit with my fiance when I was contemplating ending things. I helped him leave an abusive partner. We cooked and planned and got fucked up and laughed and loved and it was genuinely the best part of living in Kansas. STG.
I mean. It wasn't all sunshine and lollypops. Truth. We had some disagreements. I phrased things terribly a few times telling him to be tough in situations. He occasionally disregarded my feelings for his own. Both totally normal fuckups. Anf no relationship is perfect. It's hard being besties when one of you manages the other. And in effect, that started the downfall of our relationship. We made it work so unreasonably well.
In the end, I felt taken advantage of by Chris. I lost my job because of his ex and the shit that cunt started with my work and fiance. We had to relocate to a new state.l, and had bought a house and everything. And I still have a lot of anger about it. (Not just with Chris, my fiance made things so so much worse, dumbass.) But then things started spiralling. I took a lower paying job at the same time my fiance was laid off, and the struggle to make ends meet was real. I even got a second job to make it work. And shit with Chris kept piling on. He talked for ages about moving to thw same town as us while he and his husband made their way to their dream location. And I looked for apartments and jobs for him and promised to help with the move. And I thought that was all good. But he literally got an offer from an ex of his to move in with them instead, and just decided that that would be the move instead. Still expected me to help with moving and costs. Never asked, just expected.
Typing that out seems shitty. And selfish. And I am, I admit. But I was so heartbroken that we had been making these plans for a YEAR and he literally bailed the second he got another offer. That is what it felt like to me.
Besides that there was the money. At the job Chris and I worked, I made good money. Especially for the Midwest. In losing that job and taking a new one, I took a 40%cut in pay. I made ot work. Problem was, in my previous role, I was flush with cash and happy to splurge on my friends. Hell Chris's entire move and first month's rent came from me, as a gift to my friend. I spotted him money all the time, paid for groceries, movies were always on me. To such a point I think it became the norm, and defined our relationship. Because even when I was making WAY less money, Chris still expected the status quo. Constantly 'subtly' telling me he needed money for smoke, or hinting about how he had nothing to spend on his spouse for an anniversary gift. And I fucking encouraged it. I have something so fucked up in my brain that I NEED people to like me, even if it means trampling all over myself to achieve that delusion. I want to believe people love me, but I cannot reconcile it with how much I hate myself, and it leads to this shit. Every time.
Sorry for whining. Anyways.
It came to a head when we took a couples trip together. My and my partner, Chris and his. We booked a weekend in a city to see a comedian we loved and just have fun. I paid for accommodations and the comedian, I had gotten them nearly a year prior when money was no issue. And I offered to pay for the drinks and snacks at the vomedy club, since I already had a deposit down that was only partially refundable. We used it up. But through the entire trip, he expected more. I had to buy things at the mall, while shopping. And I should have said no. But I was so blinded by the joy I felt seeing my best dude for the first time in months, I just ignored it. Ignored me.
It came to a head on the last night of the vacay. We wnet out for a sushi dinner at Chris's behest, and I assumed we were all taking care of ourselves. Apparently not. Chris's partner got nauseous before the food arrived, and he left me to take care of the bill while he took care of the hubby. They ordered so much expensive shit, it was 100 buck extra onto the bill. And THEN driving home he asked if they could use some of my foodstamps to get some groceries . I get a generous supplement, so I said sure. He then proceeded to spend 250 bucks on all kinds of fancy shit. Porterhouse steaks, 13 buck lemon juice, etc. And watching it ring up, all I could feel was anger. My fiance and I needed that money to get by, and here it was being used for luxuries for someone who makes more money than I do.
Oh yeah, I forgot context. Since my new job, Chris makes more, and works less hours, than I do. We have similar expenses (he a car payment, I a mortgage). He had also had all utilities and rent taken care of for 1 year because of a program we got him in to help abused partners leaving bad relationships. So I am not fucking around when I say his financial situation has the potential to be miles better than mine.
So. Yeah. That's it. I messaged him about a month after the vacay to ask for the money for the sushi dinner back, since I had no gas money and was struggling. He literally told me he would 'try' to throw me something when he had money, but not right now.
And I just fuckint snapped. I never needed people in my life. Was a loser as a kid, a freak now, and I do okay with just myself and Youtube and Reddit and my kitties. I'm bad at peopleand don't try to make a lot of bonds. I'm fine on my own, always have been. Lucas and Mandi are my everything.
But I really thought this one was something. I love him so much, I miss him like crazy. I cared about him so much, and considered him like a bro, a bestie, all of the good things. I LOVED him. And in the end I was worth less than a fucking sushi dinner. (I get a 100 bucks is a lot. Hence why I wanted the money back, because it was a lot for me.) Anf he blew me off. And when I told him what I was feeling and that I wanted a break, he just tried to guilt trip me about how he's such a terrible person, and that's why everyone ghosted him before. I blocked him after that.
I've been watching ENCANTO and it's making me miss him so, so much. This was a movie we really bonded over. Quoted and sang all the time.
And I miss him.
Chris, since you found this account (thanks Chey and Wood, I sincerely hope you get hit by a bus), I recognize there is a chance you will read this. I miss you so much, and I want so bad for things to be as they were. But I don't trust you. And I don't forgive you right now. Don't know if I ever will, for how you treated me and made me feel. I've been used by people before. For money, connections, sexual gratification . . . I'm not someone people consider and want to keep around, ya know? I have friends generally by the grace if what I can provide. Mandi is the only person who has never, never not once taken advantage of me. Never. She's for real. You used me over and over and couldn't even pretend to care about making it right when I pleaded with you.
I am so, so, SO done begging people to think of me. Asking to be treated like a human fucking bejng as if it is such a task. I'm tired of it. I would rather spend my life in this ache of the void of your friendship than go back to being valued because I'm too fucking pathetic to say no to paying for everything. Or being the emotional punching bag when you and your husband get upset I suggest income alternatives since you were supposedly desperate for any cash and your partner can't work. I'm so sick of trying to give, hoping it will leave me with some sense of purpose or value. I have no purpose and no value, and you helped me see that very clearly, if even one of my best friends can't treat me like he cares in my hour of need.
I don't know what is going to happen next. I wish you well in your lifeand I hope with time comes maturity, and with that consideration, introspection, and reflection of who you are, and who you want to be.
I'm just going to keep trying to justify staying alive on this over-heated planet in this Conservative state with a lit of people who care about me almost as little as I care about myself.
I don't know what this was supposed to be. I don't feel any better.
I'm going to bed.

​
If you need to catch up, you can do so here.
​
A couple of college kids stumbled in, trying to hide the fact that they were obviously stoned out of their minds, and retrieved a pickup order. I watched as they clumsily staggered out the door. One of them held it politely for a small old lady. An old lady wearing a shawl. She didn’t utter so much as a thank you, beelining up to the register with purpose. I was exhausted, up well past my normal operating hours, so I had completely forgotten about the rules. Big mistake.
The woman glowered up at me, face obscured from view. Her head covering was black as well as the rest of her outfit, not unlike a ninja you’d see in a movie. The aura she radiated frightened me, but not enough to release me from my sleepy haze.
“Hello, how can I help you?” I yawned, lazily covering my mouth.
The woman didn’t move a muscle. She scowled at me, yellow reptilian eyes piercing my psyche and sending my heart into overdrive.
“Ma’am? Would you like to order something?”
Nothing. The longer we continued our staring match, the more sedated I felt, and not just due to the lack of sleep. She had some sort of strange pull over me. I nearly nodded off, my mind wandering back to the instructions.
Before I passed out, I murmured, “where’s Tony?”
Suddenly, I was released from my trance and the woman was nowhere to be found. Like she had simply vanished into thin air. My eyes widened. That was close. Too close. I trudged to the sink and splashed some cool water in my face, then poured myself a large cup of coffee. I knew it would probably keep me up well past closing, but hey, if it helped me avoid another incident like that, I was all for it.
I had just finished dumping the dustpan into the trash when I felt it. A peculiar sensation crept over me like bugs crawling on the back of my neck. I was being watched. But from where? I sensed it coming from the drive thru. I whipped my head in its direction. Empty. It shifted to the dining area. No one was there. I grew lightheaded and panic began to surge through my system. A breeze swept past my ear, and I swear I could hear a soft almost imperceptible voice whisper, “Blair.”
I bolted to the office, slamming the door shut as quickly as I could. What was that? I paced around the office like a caged animal, anxiously waiting for something, anything to happen. After what felt like an eternity, it began to dissipate without incident. I sat there for a moment, contemplating if this was really the right career path for me.
Was every night like this? I was snapped back to reality by static emanating from my headset. I ripped it off until the noise stopped. A bumbling male voice crackled through it.
“Hey, uh, is this place open?” he slurred, obviously under the influence.
“Yeah. What do you want to order?”
I was beginning to lose my cool. Between all the strange occurrences and the inebriated customers, my patience was wearing thin.
“I’ll have a filet-o-fish meal.”
“Coming right up.”
I made my way back to the kitchen and began preparing his order.
“Who the hell comes to McDonald’s at one-thirty in the morning for a freaking filet-o-fish?” I grumbled, purposely dousing his sandwich in sauce.
I served the man, hoping to be rid of him as soon as possible.
“Thanks. Hey, is that a kid at the counter?”
I turned my head and sure enough, there he was. A mess of blonde tangles and deep blue eyes peered at me from the register. I sighed.
“Yeah, I’ll take care of him. Have a good night.”
A child. Unaccompanied in my restaurant. Just what I needed. I began to approach the counter when rule seven blared in my mind like a tornado siren. I froze mid-stride.
“Just ignore him, Blair. It’s almost two. You got this,” I reassured myself, starting my closing duties early.
That was easier said than done. The child began wailing, shrill high-pitched screams reverberating off the walls. He ran into the kitchen area, allowing me a full view of his tiny frame. The boy couldn’t have been older than six. His Pac-Man T-shirt looked well outdated, and he was filthy, as if he hadn’t showered in years. He began tugging on my shirt, begging for attention.
“Please help me, lady. I can’t find my mommy,” he cried, tears streaming down his rosy cheeks.
He was relentlessly pulling at my clothing. That was it. I’d reached my breaking point. If this child, monster, demon, whatever he was, planned on killing me, he could go ahead and put me out of my misery. I was done.
“Get out! Just screw off and leave me the hell alone!”
He immediately quit sniffling and straightened up as if I’d flipped a switch. Red tinged his striking pupils. Dread began sinking into my gut. A malicious grin blossomed across his lips.
“You made the right choice,” he growled as he headed toward the exit.
“Weirdo kid,” I mumbled, returning to cleaning.
I finished up and waited around for two to hit, praying for a quiet, uneventful end to my first nightmare closing shift. Of course, my prayers went unanswered. I had a mere three minutes until I was supposed to clock out when I spotted it. A dark red viscous liquid oozing from beneath the stove.
“Great. Awesome. Just what I needed.”
I filled up a mop bucket in the storage closet and began sopping up the mystery fluid. If it wasn’t blood, you could’ve fooled me. A persistent copper taste assaulted my tongue every time I opened my mouth. I gagged, forcing vomit back down my throat. The stuff just wouldn’t stop coming. On my third bucket-full of sloshing crimson, I finally started gaining an upper hand.
I mopped fervently as blisters erupted across my hands from the friction of the wooden handle. All the not-blood had been disposed of. I breathed a sigh of relief, careful to avoid splashing myself as I dumped the last of it down the drain. I’d done it.
“Take that, bitches! I win!” I cheered as if I’d just claimed first prize at the Indy 500.
My celebration was short-lived once I glanced down at my phone. 2:35 A.M. I bolted to the freezer, scooping up a couple bags of frozen patties. I slashed them open as quickly as I could, hoping in vain that I’d be able to make it out in time. I dumped their contents on the grill, then turned to toss the packaging in the trash. My heart plummeted into my gut.
A man stood before me. His black dead eyes matched that of the small mask encompassing the top half of his face. Wispy red hair sprouted from his floppy hat. A matching tattered black and white striped uniform framed his features, accompanied by a dingy red tie dotted with images of burgers. He grinned at me, jagged rotten teeth sending a chill undulating through my entire body. He spoke, a rough gravelly voice shattering the tense silence.
“Look, I know you’re new here, so I’ll spare you this time. But if I ever catch you in here this late again, I won’t think twice about increasing my calorie intake.”
His wicked smile exuded a malevolent hunger that still haunts my nightmares. A wet gray tongue wormed its way around his cracked withered lips. I felt like a mouse about to be devoured by a rattlesnake. He scowled at me.
“What are you still doing here? GET OUT!”
I suddenly regained my mobility. I tore through the dining area and burst into the cool night air. The Hamburglar’s soulless stare followed me into the vacant parking lot. I hurriedly locked him inside and raced to my car as a torrent of emotions flooded through me at once. Fear, anger, and confusion were all prominent on my desolate drive home. In the end, rage won out.
I wasn’t scheduled the next day, but I was determined to make that smug prick in charge at least give me some sort of explanation. I returned to the golden arches around four hours later running on zero sleep and a whole pot of Maxwell House. With fire in my eyes, I flung the door open and marched straight to Dave’s office.
“Oh, yeah, it was great. Had his car repossessed and everything. Oh, hey Blitz. Uh huh. Yep. I-”
“For the last freaking time, it's Blair! B-L-A-I-R. Not Blitzen, not Blaziken, not Blakely. BLAIR.”
Dave furrowed his brow, mouth slightly agape.
“Yeah Jim, I’ll have to get back to you.”
He ended the call and furiously pocketed his phone.
“Do you even know who that was? I mean, why the hell do you think you can just storm into my office like this-”
“No, you listen to me, Davey boy. I just had the worst night of my life. Every weird thing that could’ve happened, happened. And you don’t care one bit.”
“I see you’ve become acquainted with our more… troublesome clientele.”
“Yeah. I have. And I’m not dealing with that crap again. I quit,” I hissed, dramatically slapping my hat onto his polished cedarwood desk before turning to walk out the door.
“Wait! Twenty-five an hour.”
I stopped dead in my tracks. I reluctantly faced him. A sly toothy grin was stamped on his greasy face. I mulled it over. That was almost double what I was currently making. I could have my college paid for in no time.
“Twenty-seven and you’ve got a deal.”
“You drive a hard bargain, Mrs. Blair. I accept,” he said, extending his hand.
I begrudgingly shook it, cringing as his sweaty palm gripped mine.
“I’m glad you were able to see reason. Welcome to the night crew.”
​
SR

Company Name	Title	City
Keefe's	Lead HVAC Installer	Harvey
Keefe's	HVAC Service Technician	Harvey
Solar Alternatives	Journeyman Electrician	New Orleans
Solar Alternatives	Solar Installer	New Orleans
Solar Alternatives	Journeyman Electrician	Shreveport
Rapides Regional Medical Center	Registered Nurse Labor and Delivery	Alexandria
Houston Methodist Hospital	Registered Nurse (RN)	Baton Rouge
Houston Methodist Hospital	RN	Baton Rouge
Houston Methodist Hospital	Registered Nurse (RN) - Relocate to Houston	Chalmette
Houston Methodist Hospital	RN	Chalmette
Houston Methodist Hospital	Registered Nurse (RN)	Chalmette
Houston Methodist Hospital	RN	Gretna
Houston Methodist Hospital	Registered Nurse (RN)	Gretna
Houston Methodist Hospital	Registered Nurse (RN) - Relocate to Houston	Gretna
Houston Methodist Hospital	Registered Nurse (RN) - Relocate to Houston	Houma
Houston Methodist Hospital	Registered Nurse (RN)	Kenner
Houston Methodist Hospital	Registered Nurse (RN) - Relocate to Houston	Kenner
Houston Methodist Hospital	RN	Kenner
Transdevna	Operator - Paratransit FT	Laplace
Houston Methodist Hospital	Registered Nurse (RN) - Relocate to Houston	Luling
Louisiana Restaurant Association	Catering Worker	METAIRIE
Louisiana Restaurant Association	Trade Show Manager	METAIRIE
Louisiana Restaurant Association	Event Manager	METAIRIE
Houston Methodist Hospital	Registered Nurse (RN) - Relocate to Houston	Monroe
Houston Methodist Hospital	Registered Nurse (RN) - Relocate to Houston	New Orleans

Hey guys, here are some recent job openings in la. Feel free to comment here or send me a private message if you have any questions, I'm at the community's disposal! If you encounter any problems with any of these job openings please let me know that I will modify the table accordingly. Thanks!

It was a long trip. This is a long post. Apologies in advance.
HIGHLIGHTS (Days 1-14 of 28) KYOTO--Kiyomizu temple; Nanzenji temple; Nijo Castle; Sanjusangendo temple; Shugakuin Imperial Villa; Kinkakuji (Golden Pavilion); Fushimi Inari shrine; 184th Kamogawa-Odori geisha show HIMEJI-The castle and garden. NARA-Todaiji temple UJI-Byodoin temple IZU KOGEN--Jogasaki Coast nature trail
TOKYO, Monday 5/8
We arrived mid-afternoon at Tokyo/Haneda, right after Golden Week ended. It turned out to be, coincidentally, the day when the Japanese government officially downgraded the Covid pandemic to the level of a seasonal flu.
Fresh off a 13-hour flight and experiencing Japan for the first time, we went from touchdown to hotel check-in in something like 90 minutes, braving an almost-rush-hour crush on the Keikyu Line train from the Terminal 3 station.
Experience has taught us that meticulously planning every step of arrival in a new country is crucial to avoiding confusion, getting lost or simply wasting time.
Pre-loaded Suica cards on our smartphones led us straight to the train without standing in any lines.
We' chose the Shinagawa Station area of central Tokyo to spare our jetlagged selves another leg of indeterminate length--four or five hours at least--to reach our Kyoto base. Shinagawa is a straight shot--no transfers--from Haneda and a great place to catch a bullet train.
It was a geezer move that gave us plenty of time to familiarize ourselves with the layout and operation of one of Japan's busiest train stations.
Before crashing for the night, we'd taken care of some business by getting cash from an ATM and picking up reserved seat tickets for a post-Kyoto leg. We used a JR Railway ticket machine to print out the tickets, using QR codes emailed to us the previous month when we bought the tickets online directly from JR-East railway (we avoided costly middlemen in all our travel and entertainment purchases, something that requires planning but is easily doable from abroad). Like all our electronic machine transactions in Japan, there was an English language option on the touch-screen.
A machine also checked us in at the Prince Hotel Shinagawa, part of a modern high-rise development, chosen mainly for convenience. It's a one-block walk from the train station and was perfect for a couple jet-lagged Japan newbies. What we got, for the princely sum of $116 USD, was a spacious (by Japan standards) room on the 34th floor with a dead-on view of Tokyo Tower. Dinner was carryout sushi from the Queen's Isetan department store on the opposite side of the station, plus beer and sake from a convenience store, all consumed in the hotel room with Tokyo's skyline at our feet.
KYOTO , Tuesday 5/9
On the advice of an old Japan hand, we made Kyoto our base for the first two weeks. It worked well. We explored a fabulous city, took three day trips (Himeji/Osaka; Nara; Uji) and left town wishing we'd had time for more.
We expected our first full day to be a blur, due to jetlag, but it wasn't too bad. Following advice from this sub for first-time shinkansen travelers, we got to the station an hour early.
We bought far enough in advance on the Smart EX app to get a slight discount. We booked back row seats on the right-hand side for easy luggage storage but discovered that both our bags (including my larger one, which measures 142 cm [L+H+W]) also fit on the overhead rack. We never had luggage problems on trains during our trip.
Our train to Kyoto had great Fuji views, our first. After depositing the bags in a Kyoto station storage locker (rented with the smartphone Suica card), we made our first sightseeing stop: Toji Temple, a quick subway ride and walk away.
About picking hotels
We used triangulation to pick hotels; that is, cross-checking information from various sources to give us the best possible chance of getting a good place at a decent price. Sources included a handful of guidebooks from the public library, Trip Advisor and this sub.
Solaria Nishitetsu Hotel Kyoto Premier ($221 USD per night with massive breakfast buffet, best of the trip) turned out to be a great base. We paid extra for a room facing the Kamo River, a popular gathering spot for locals, tourists and joggers. We benefited from early booking (more than six months in advance, shortly after Japan began opening up). Inflation and other factors have since raised the price of the same room by about 10 percent.
The newish (opened in 2017) hotel attracts mainly Japanese/Asian travelers who, like me, enjoyed the onsen in the basement. We also put the coin-operated washedryers to good use.
KYOTO, Wednesday 5/10
Up and out, thanks to jetlag, shortly after 5 a.m., walking deserted streets to the foot of magical Kiyomizu temple, arriving just as it opened at 6 a.m. We were back at the hotel for breakfast by 8, after walking down the picturesque, cobbled streets of Sannenzaka, shops still closed, with more tourists starting to trickle in.
About choosing sightseeing spots
I'm a sucker for ratings, assuming they're done well. So, guidebook must-sees, like DK Eyewitness's or Lonely Planet's, star ratings in the Michelin Green Guide to Japan or in the downloaded Gateway to Japan guide (a steal at $10 and in your pocket for free on Kindle app) and, finally, Japan Guide's recommendations helped guide our steps.
That's how we ended up spending the afternoon at Nanzenji, a must-see Zen temple, which, like Kiyomizu, is laid out at the foot of the mountains east of town.
Lunch this day was at Junsei, a yudofo (boiled tofu) restaurant we stumbled onto near the temple. We used wooden sticks to skim the surface of an iron vat filled with simmering soy milk, that was set before us over a gas flame.
About finding restaurants
If you've never been to Japan but lurk on this sub, you've already heard that it's practically impossible to get a bad meal. We booked a handful of places before leaving home but agree with others that you rarely need to do that to eat well. If you're determined to hit a place that's highly popular, often with deep-pocketed foreign tourists, reservations may be required.
We're foodies, up to a point, but Japan's profusion of starred Michelin restaurants was wasted on us. We've learned over the years that we seldom enjoy paying the inflated cost. Over four weeks, we ate once at a Michelin one-star, chosen for other reasons.
That said, Michelin's Bib Gourmands (good, affordable restaurants) never disappointed us. They are plentiful in Japan, especially in Kyoto and Tokyo, and worth seeking out. Most of the time, though, we picked places to eat by cross-checking Google (asking for "soba noodles" near me, for example) and Tabelog, the indispensible crowd-sourced Japanese website (we looked for places in the 3.5 range).
Non-speakers of Japanese can have a hard time making reservations. We found that we could make them in advance from abroad through services like TableCheck (and an apparently expanding number of others aimed at tourists, usually charging a fee; sometimes small, sometimes steep). On the ground in Japan, we sometimes reserved for free through Google and Tabelog (at random places which you can find on Google or Tabelog restaurant listings); they were always honored. We also asked hotel reception desks for reservation help on occasion. We went to a couple restaurants in person and booked a table for later. But the easiest and often best way to get in is simply to arrive on the early side for lunch (by 11:30 or so) or dinner (between 5 and 5:30). More than once, we walked right into a place and were seated, only to discover lots of people waiting in line outside when we left. That said, if you're looking for an above-average meal on a Saturday night, especially in a popular location, you might want to book in advance.
Konbinis (convenience stores) are cheap, good and extremely reliable sources of takeout. And though we liked what we got there (mainly onigiri), we wound up relying on them less and less as the trip went along. The same was true of department store basements, which lived up to their reputation as fantastic food sources, for locals and tourists alike. We learned that we could often eat for the same amount or less in restaurants geared to locals or foreigners on limited budgets, rather than chowing down in our hotel room.
KYOTO, Thursday 5/11
We hit Nijo Castle in the morning and Sento Imperial Palace, one of several attractions we reserved in advance through the Imperial Household Agency. All were well worth it (and free of charge). The agency website explains the rules, which vary somewhat from site to site. We also toured Kyoto Imperial Palace.
About navigation
Just as the Google Translate app (and similar devices) have broken down language barriers, several travel apps have vastly simplified the business of getting around. Google Maps was our basic navigational tool and it rarely failed us. Another app that helped work in concert with Google Maps was Navitime's Japan Travel guide. Both provide alternate routes, detailed information on trains and stations and much more. Sometimes, when we popped out of subway station, we'd check the compass app on the smartphone to make sure we were heading off in the right direction. It doesn't hurt that public transit throughout the country increasingly uses English or romaji to translate Japanese. Over four weeks, we only found one place where we had trouble deciphering the destination signs on buses (oddly enough, in Himeji, a tourist magnet).
KYOTO, Friday, 5/12
A busy day started at Katsura Imperial Villa. Like other Imperial Household venues, a guided tour (in Japanese, but with free English audio guide) is the only way to see the place and its beautiful gardens.
We also caught a kabuki for beginners show at sumptuous Minamiza Theatre--tickets purchased online in advance--after briefly stopping by bustling Yasaka-jinja shrine down the street.
Dinner was our priciest splurge: Itoh, a serene, traditional style steak house in the atmospheric Gion neighborhood. We hadn't initially planned on eating Kobe beef, since we've pretty much given up beef in our everyday lives, but we were persuaded by a family member who correctly posed the question: If not now, when? Worth the steep tab ($264), not least because our table overlooked the tiny Shirakawa canal, the service was great and now we can say we know what Kobe beef is all about. Like buttah.
KYOTO, Saturday 5/13
We were at Sanjusangendo when it opened and glad we'd gone. The display of 500 life-size, gilded 1000-armed kannon in Japan's longest wooden structure was unforgettable.
We're museum people--either you are or you ain't--and the special exhibition at Kyoto National Museum on the 850th anniversary of the founder of Shin Buddhism was well worth it. Unfortunately, like most Japanese museums, photos were prohibited inside. In this regard, technically advanced Japan lags much of the civilized world; even Old Europe has greatly loosened such restrictions in recent years. Smartphone cameras can be a nuisance to other visitors, but they are a quick and easy way of capturing what you've seen and preserving it for later study.
Lunch was at Vegan Ramen Uzu Kyoto, a Bib Gourmand and the weirdest place we ate. Expanded availability of vegetarian ramen is a promising, healthier trend, and we enjoyed it at several places in Tokyo and Kyoto. A TableCheck reservation, made well in advance, got us seats at this cutting-edge spot. Dining is at a polished black surface in a darkened room bathed by the illumination of a giant, swirling teamLab artwork. Pricey but good.
KYOTO, Sunday 5/14
We're horseplayers and enjoyed a day at recently reopened Kyoto Racecourse, capacity 120,000. Betting is easy; just stop by the information desk for instructions in English.
Dinner at Tiger Gyoza Hall was lively, inexpensive and delicious. It was the only restaurant on our trip that we visited twice; reservable on Google.
KYOTO, Monday 5/15
No place put us through more hoops than Kokedera, better known at Moss Temple. It was well worth the difficulty of getting a needed reservation; if you do it by mail from abroad--the least expensive way to go--you need a couple months head start (and an International Reply Coupon, which you have to buy online from the Swiss Postal System). We got there and back via city buses. Along the way we crossed Togetsukyo Bridge in the very congested tourist hotbed of Arashiyama. It didn't make us regret our decision to skip the area.
Afterward we visited Ninnaji temple. Ryoanji temple and its famous rock garden (where noisy fellow tourists made a Zen experience impossible) and Kinkakuji, the incredible Golden Pavilion. The place was jammed but crowd control is excellent and we're glad we made it.
KYOTO, Tuesday 5/16
Shugakuin Imperial Villa, a vast imperial property of gardens and buildings (which you cannot enter) on the northeastern outskirts, was our favorite Imperial Household Agency site. We felt fortunate to get advance tickets through their lottery but saw that same-day tickets were also available there and at other Agency sites; it would be a long way to go, however, if all tickets were gone on the day you wanted to enter. Since we made a conscious decision to visit Japan after the cherry blossom and Golden Week crowds were gone, we have no idea what things are like during busier times.
We strolled the Philosopher's Path after lunch. Perhaps if it had been a quiet early or cherry blossom time, we might have been blown away. Instead, it was a rare disappointment. It struck us as a very conventional touristy trail; nothing special at all.
On the other hand, Ginkakuji (Silver Pavilion), near one end of the path, lived up to the hype. We capped the day by off by catching the procession of Aoi Matsuri, or Hollyhock Festival, one of Kyoto's three big annual festivals. The parade of hundreds of elaborately costumed people, some on horseback, highlighted by a pair of ox-drawn carts, was a hoot. What surprised us was the absence of music or any sort of percussion.
HIMEJI and OSAKA, Wednesday 5/17
A shinkansen whisked us to Himeji for a tour of the incomparable castle and impressive gardens. We took advantage of the unique Himeji Castle English Speaking Guide service, which generously provides personal tours with an area resident, in English, at no cost (book online in advance).
Lunch was at Mentetsu, a very good ramen shop at a mall located between the train station and the castle. Recommended.
We finished the excursion at Osaka's famous, crazy Dotonburi neighborhood, a cross between Times Square and Disney. Dinner was our first okonomiyaki, deliciously prepared at Okonomiyaki Mizuno (a Bib Gourmand). We're allergic to standing in line---life is too short--and we never waited more than 30 minutes for a table on our trip. They took our order at Mizuno while we were in line, and it was prepared before our countertop seats shortly after we got in. Oishī!
UJI, Thursday 5/18
Uji is renowned for its tea and Byodoin temple, best known for its elegant phoenix hall, which is pictured on the back of the 10 Yen coin. It was a great day trip, including lunch at a traditional local soba shop that served cold noodles sobayu style; you pour hot soba stock--the cloudy water the noodles were boiled in--into what's left of your soy-based dipping sauce and drink the (supposedly) healthy brew. Definitely the way to go. Mampukuji, a Zen temple, was a worthwhile stop before we caught a train back to Kyoto.
NARA, Friday 5/19
Our first day of heavy rain failed to dampen the visit to one of the best places on our trip. The town, a tourist favorite because, or in spite of, the overpopulation of overly friendly deer, is well-described elsewhere. We toured Todai-ji, with its giant Bronze Buddha, had lunch at the cute and delicious Pizzeria Trattoria Magazzino (Bib Gourmand) and checked out Kohfukuji temple, too.
KYOTO, Saturday 5/20
Fushimi Inari shrine, on almost every Kyoto must-see list, lives up to its reputation. We followed good advice from this sub and arrived early, a few minutes before 8 a.m. Already, crowds were building. We detoured from the main path through thousands of torii gates and wandered instead up an almost totally deserted sylvan trail on the south side of Mt. Inari, past bamboo groves, a few minor shrines and some houses. After about 45 minutes, we reached a set of stone stairs to the summit. From the top, we took the main path down, dodging the stream of fellow tourists as best we could and gaping at the gates and the view from the halfway point. We highly recommend this alternative way of seeing the best of two Fushimi Inari worlds.
We celebrated our last full day in Kyoto, and our 40th wedding anniversary, with a memorable kaiseki lunch at Hana Kitcho, a Michelin one-star booked weeks in advance from home. The beautifully decorated private room, attentive service, imaginative presentation, museum-quality stoneware and delicious food were certainly up to one-star standards.
The minute that advance online tickets went on sale for the 184th Kamogawa Odori, I jumped on them. The tourist-oriented geisha dance performance is held in May at a theater that overlooks the Kamo River. We were lucky to have been given seats in the front row and when one of the geishas tossed a white cloth package in my direction I snatched it. I now have an unexpected souvenir, a cloth banner autographed by the geisha herself. The fantastic show will remain in memory.
IZU KOGEN, Sunday 5/21
We left Kyoto for the Izu Peninsula and what turned out to be the best single night of our trip. Hanafubuki, a modern ryokan I learned about on this sub, was everything we could have wanted. It features 9 private outdoor onsens on beautifully landscaped property and elegant guest rooms with fluffy futons for sleeping on tatami mats. The ten-course dinner was exquisite. Breakfast, a seven-course feast that featured whole grilled horse mackerel and golden-eye sea bream, was simply amazing.
IZU KOGEN, Monday 5/22
A short walk from the ryokan is the scenic Jogasaki Coast nature trail, a rugged stretch of rocks and pounding surf. A guy I met there who introduced himself as Zeus, a Japanese native currently living in California and in town to visit his parents, compared the coastline to Monterey Bay. We could have used another night to allow us to explore the trail at greater length.
Lunch was at a great local restaurant, walking distance from the train station, Honke Maguroya, featuring local fish and top-grade tuna. The wasabi rhizome, which you grate yourself, is a tipoff to the quality of the sushi, but the prices are extremely reasonable. Recommended.
From there we headed back to Tokyo and the remainder of our trip. Highlights and a full (too full?) final report coming soon.

Company Name	Title	City
Keefe's	Lead HVAC Installer	Harvey
Keefe's	HVAC Service Technician	Harvey
Solar Alternatives	Journeyman Electrician	New Orleans
Solar Alternatives	Solar Installer	New Orleans
Solar Alternatives	Journeyman Electrician	Shreveport
Rapides Regional Medical Center	Registered Nurse Labor and Delivery	Alexandria
Houston Methodist Hospital	Registered Nurse (RN)	Baton Rouge
Houston Methodist Hospital	RN	Baton Rouge
Houston Methodist Hospital	Registered Nurse (RN) - Relocate to Houston	Chalmette
Houston Methodist Hospital	RN	Chalmette
Houston Methodist Hospital	Registered Nurse (RN)	Chalmette
Houston Methodist Hospital	RN	Gretna
Houston Methodist Hospital	Registered Nurse (RN)	Gretna
Houston Methodist Hospital	Registered Nurse (RN) - Relocate to Houston	Gretna
Houston Methodist Hospital	Registered Nurse (RN) - Relocate to Houston	Houma
Houston Methodist Hospital	Registered Nurse (RN)	Kenner
Houston Methodist Hospital	Registered Nurse (RN) - Relocate to Houston	Kenner
Houston Methodist Hospital	RN	Kenner
Transdevna	Operator - Paratransit FT	Laplace
Houston Methodist Hospital	Registered Nurse (RN) - Relocate to Houston	Luling
Louisiana Restaurant Association	Catering Worker	METAIRIE
Louisiana Restaurant Association	Trade Show Manager	METAIRIE
Louisiana Restaurant Association	Event Manager	METAIRIE
Houston Methodist Hospital	Registered Nurse (RN) - Relocate to Houston	Monroe
Houston Methodist Hospital	Registered Nurse (RN) - Relocate to Houston	New Orleans

Hey guys, here are some recent job openings in la. Feel free to comment here or send me a private message if you have any questions, I'm at the community's disposal! If you encounter any problems with any of these job openings please let me know that I will modify the table accordingly. Thanks!

Please ask any Denver-related questions here, but it would be a good idea to search the sub and read our FAQ before doing so -- many of your questions have likely already been answered. A little research will allow you ask more detailed questions which will get you better answers. If you want a quick answer or just to chat, check out the /Denver discord server..
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Read FAQ entry Free on Your Birthday BBQ Mexican Bars Cultural Restaurants MEGATHREAD Denverfood
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CoronavirusColorado/ /denver and /CoronaVirusColorado Combined Feed Denver Area COVID-19 Resources and News Megapost IV - More Information in /CoronavirusColorado
State National Resources:
Colorado.gov Information Nationwide Map by Johns Hopkins

Just over 23 years have passed since the hot late summer evening when 28-year-old Roberta Martucci disappeared into thin air. Since that 20 August 1999, all trace of this young woman has been lost. Those who did not know her may remember the description given to advance the search: brown curly hair, a dazzling smile, a black floral skirt, high-heeled shoes, and a grey jacket.
Roberta’s disappearance revolves around the Apulian towns of Torre San Giovanni di Ugento, the small village where the girl lived and from where she left on her car that August evening, and Gallipoli, the seaside town to which she was heading to meet a friend, with whom she was supposed to go shopping.
Who was Roberta? According to her sister Lorella – who is largely responsible for the reopening of the case and the charge against a man close to Roberta – she was a serene girl with no known troubles; she had recently left her longtime boyfriend, with whom she remained on good terms. Roberta was the last of five daughters and she was employed in a retirement community. She lived with her mother and some of her sisters. For several months now, she had been friends with two girls from Gallipoli, Rory and Cinzia.

Timeline & events

• August 20, 1999, around 8:00 am: Roberta is spending a few days of vacation. It is the day her sister Sabrina returns from Bologna where she is studying at the local university. Roberta is preparing to go to the beach with her aunt and uncle and her sister Gina.
• 9:00 am: According to phone records, Roberta receives a phone call that lasts approximately 5 minutes.
• 9:30 am: Roberta receives a second call but this time it’s 45 minutes long. Roberta is seen walking away from her relatives gesticulating, pacing up and down the beach – she seems to be arguing animatedly.
• Having finished the call, Roberta returns to her relatives and spends the day; she seems serene. During lunch with her aunt and uncle and her mother Roberta says she would use the car in the evening in order to go to a party in Gallipoli.
• 8:20 pm: Roberta dresses to go out; she borrows a skirt from her sister Lorella. She is wearing a gray pearl top, has a bare back, and puts on her gold earrings with a blue stone to which she matches a gray hand-knit jacket. Sabrina asks Roberta for a ride in her car. The two leave the house, drive away in the white Fiat Uno but Roberta will never return.
• 8:45 pm: Roberta and Sabrina are in the car together. Roberta answers a call saying, "Hi, Rory, if you want to believe Cinzia go ahead, I can’t talk right now." Sabrina’s friend’s house is 200 meters from the Martucci’s.
• 9:30 pm: Rory (the friend with whom Roberta is to meet) is agitated because she’s running late and it’s not like her at all. Rory tries to call Roberta, but her phone turns out to be off.
• 11 pm: Rory writes a message to her friend “ROBERTA NON FARE SCHERZI”.
• August 21, 1999, around 3 am: Roberta’s cell phone rings three times, then it will remain off forever.
• in the afternoon: Several of Roberta’s family members are questioned by police. Her uncle and her aunt mention the two calls Roberta had answered on the morning of the 20th. Her brother-in-law Donato tells about seeing her agitated in this circumstance.
• August 23, 1999: A note is delivered to Donato’s sister’s workplace: “Hi I’m Roberta I wanted to tell you that I’m alive.”
• August 24, 1999: A call comes to the Carabinieri station: the owner of Bar Stella, located on Via Genova in Gallipoli, reports that the white Fiat Uno mentioned in the newspapers is parked in front of the bar. The man is adamant about the fact that the car was not there the night before.
• The doors of the car are closed except for the driver’s. The ignition keys (the only set of keys for the car according to the Martucci family) and registration are missing. All that remains of Roberta is her gray knit jacket on the back seat of the car. No fingerprints are detected inside the cabin, but a handwritten note is found: “I love you my sweet love.” Roberta’s car is located near the home of Rory and the workplace of Cinzia.
• September 6, 1999: Donato makes a spontaneous statement to the Carabinieri again. He tells them that he drove past via Genova on August 23 at 10:30 p.m. and did not see Roberta’s Fiat Uno.
• January 15, 2000: Casarano Carabinieri draw up a restitution report in favor of Laudina, sister of Roberta and wife of Donato, and Laudina drives the car to the home of his mother, Concetta, where she parks it. Concetta will use the car in the next months. The car is released without ignition keys and registration.
• August 2000: The car is scrapped by Laudina.

Follow-up

In the following months, there are several reports about Roberta. A viewer of the well-known TV program Chi l’ha visto? claims to have seen her at a famous club in Milan. A mythomaniac swears he saw her eating a Viennetta at a local restaurant. A young woman even comes forward claiming to have seen Roberta in a dream, according to her murdered and then hidden in a trullo (a traditional Apulian dry stone hut with a conical roof). There is also no shortage of notes delivered to family or authorities – in addition to the one found in the car, a fax arrives to a Taranto newspaper: “Roberta Martucci alive, poor health condition, change life change life change life, leave her alone, she will only be heard from by family members.”
In 2007, Lecce prosecutor's office received another fax accusing Roberta’s two friends, Rory and Cinzia, and recommending that they be “thrown in jail” for a few months to make them talk: “Regarding Roberta’s sad story, I inform you that she is now gone, but the truth in detail can only be given to you by those two friends in Gallipoli. They know everything.”
Investigators, evidently struggling, nevertheless try to explore some leads, including that of drug-fueled parties in Gallipoli (initially suggested nine months after Roberta’s disappearance by Donato, who was allegedly told by a friend of his about Roberta’s unsavory acquaintances). Rory and Cinzia are investigated – to the point of driving them away from the city – but this trail leads nowhere. The investigators are sure, though, that the two girls have minimized their relationship with Roberta. Repentant mafiosi from Salento and Calabria are heard by the police, but they cannot help the investigation. The hypothesis of a jealous ex-boyfriend is also discarded.
In 2007, seven years after Roberta’s disappearance, Donato is heard. He tells the investigators he and Laudina received the car registration from the Carabinieri of Casarano when the latter released Roberta’s car. Concerning the ignition keys, he tells they already had a copy. On June 13, 2018, Donato is heard once again (this time as a suspect, the first in this case): he tells he doesn’t remember anything about the car registration and the ignition keys. When confronted with the spontaneous statement he made eleven years before, he tells the investigators he doesn’t remember anything about it, but he’s now sure the car was released without keys. On June 14, 2018, a conversation between Donato and his wife is intercepted: the former threatens to harm himself in case the investigation implicates him.
In 2019, on the TV program Chi l’ha visto?, Sabrina confided that she had been sexually abused by her brother-in-law Donato since she was 16 years old; she also says she admitted the fact to her sister Roberta. (This circumstance is confirmed by Donato, but too much time has now passed for him to be prosecuted for this crime under Italian law.) Criminologists Isabel Martina and Roberta Bruzzone, together with Roberta’s sister Lorella, have in the meantime made the investigators reopen the case – they argue that Donato is directly involved in the disappearance and that Sabrina’s allegations are crucial to understanding his motive. Roberta's family is now split in two: on one side Lorella and Sabrina, on the other side the remaining two sisters and the mother, who defend Donato.
In 2022, Roberta’s case is dismissed and so is the charge against Donato. The preliminary hearing judge writes in his motivations report that “there are mere suspicions and conjectures against the suspect that are not supported by concrete and precise factual data that would support an accusation deserving of trial consideration”; he also argues that there could have been another set of car keys.

Key questions

• Were there really two sets of car keys?
• According to the scrapper, the car was handed over with registration and ignition keys. Who had them?
• Why was the car scrapped if it was only 2 years old?
• Is it significant that Roberta disappeared on the very day Sabrina returned from Bologna?
• Why did Roberta tell her family she was going to a party when her friends say they simply had to go shopping?
• Let’s even say that Donato is implicated in some way. Would he have been stupid enough to give his wife the original keys and registration to allow her to take the car back to her mother?

Sources

Mentre Morivo puntata #26 - La Morte di Roberta Martucci
A Pista Fredda - Il Caso di Roberta Martucci
Chi l'ha visto? - La scomparsa di Roberta Martucci - 13/02/2019

Last week, u/ExistentialPuggle posted an amazing list of things to do in Baton Rouge that weekend and a lot of people got excited about all the fun things going on, while others shared adfitional events happening around the city. One Redditor commented that they didn’t realize how many great things Baton Rouge has going on and this is something I’ve noticed happening a lot, so my goal is to let people know all the great things Baton Rouge has to offer and hope they share it with others.
Adam Knapp, BRAC’s new president, said his biggest concern is that compared to other cities like Lafayette and New Orleans, Baton Rouge does not have “insane community pride” and looking at this subreddit proves he’s right. I know its hard to be proud of this city. I know we’ll never be #1 on any positive list and am use to scrolling down to the bottom lists to find us but I’m a Baton Rougian for life and try to find as much pride to have in gvis city as possible.
I’m usually a lurker and not much if a poster, so it might take me a few tries to get the format right. Also, with Reddit deciding to compleywly fuck over 3rd party apps, I’m not aure how easy posting will be once Apollo no longer exists.
The places I’m currently looking for events are news sources, local magzines, the library and local wbesite. If you have any other recommendations on where to look, please share.
Please share any other events I might have missed!
(Due to this being a late night Thursday adventure, I’m probabaly only going to be able to posts this weekend’s events, but my goal is to add on events that are ongoing in the area)
Local Live Music: Red Stick Music does an amazing job of listing all known live music shows
FRIDAY - June 9th
Coppélia Ballet: Baton Rouge Ballet Theatre’s Youth Ballet summer touring show - Carver Library - 9:30am - Free
LSU MOA’s Neighborhood Art Pop-Up: LSU Museum if Art brings artists, art supplies and creative projects offering kids a fun opportunity to create artwork while learning - Shiloh Baptist Church - 10am-12pm
Mary Poppins Jr.: Central Community Theatre puts on musical based on the popular Disney movie - Manship Theatre (not sure how this will work with Summer of Swing) - 6:30pm - $29
Rhinos of the World: Learn all about rhinos from how they communicate to where they live - Baton Rouge Zoo - 6:30pm-7:30pm - Free but pre-registration is required
Movies in the Plaza: Movie: Turning Red (bring lawn chairs or blankets) - The Main Library at Goodwood - 7pm - Free
Summer Swing with Ashley Orlando - The Great American Songbook & Beyond: A voyage through jazz and swing from the early 20th century through the 1960s - Manship Theatre (not sure how this will work with Mary Poppins Jr. - $25
Highland Road Park Observatory: Display Premiere: The Histories and Mysteries of Glass - 5:30pm-8:30pm - Free
Phil Brady’s Bar: Live music from Mid-City Prowlers, Low Water Bridge & The Squanders - Come see u/Bassman-BEADG play in all 3 bands! - 8:30pm - Not sure of cover charge
SATURDAY - June 10th
Red Stick Farmers Market: Farm fresh produce, goods, cooking demonstrations and more - Fifth and Main Street downtown - 8am-12pm
Market at the Oasis: Vendors selling farm grown produce, handmade items, baked goods and more - 13827 Coursey Blvd - 9am-1pm
Kids Fest: Live entertainment, speakers, health screenings and outdoor play - Scotlandville Parkway - 9am-1pm
Highland Road Park Observatory - Science Academy: Exploring Weather II - Cadets will investigate: frost, mist, fog, clouds, rain and snow - Ages 8-12 - 10am-12pm - $5 for EBR Parish Cadet; $6 for other-Parish Cadet
Irene W. Pennington Planetarium - Stargazing: Learn about stars and constellations and an all-ages show - Louisiana Arts & Science Museum - 10am - Ticket included in regular admission
Baddies Who Brunch: High energy drag performance with bottomless mimosas and table seating brunch - Independence Park Theatre - Doors open at 10am; Show starts at 11am - $35 Don’t forget to bring singles to tip the fabulous queens!
Greater Baton Rouge Model Railroaders: Miniature train models and running models of trains - 3406 College Street Jackson, Louisiana - 10am-2pm - Free
BASF’s Kid’s Lab: Float or Sink: Explore the science of chemistry during a 45-minute hands-on workshop - Ages 6-12 - Louisiana Arts & Science Museum - 11am; 1pm & 3pm - Tickets included with regular admission
Radio Bar - Art Market: Local artists and creators - Radio Bar - 2pm-6pm
Mary Poppins Jr.: Central Community Theatre puts on musical based on the popular Disney movie - Manship Theatre - 2pm & 6:30pm - $29
Baton Rouge Super Regional - LSU Baseball: LSU vs UK - Alex Box Stadium - 2pm - Tickets required
Red Stick C.A.R.E.S - Under the Lights: Night Red Stick Market with live music and lots of local artists and vendors - 5475 Essen Lane - 6pm-9pm
Boomerang Comedy Theatre: Improve Student Showcase - Feel free to bring BYOB - Boomerang Comedy Theatre - 7pm; 8pm & 9pm - Free but tickets required
Highland Road Park Observatory - Evening Sky Viewing: Weather permitting, view the night sky through telescopes - 7:30pm-10pm - Free -Turn off headlights when driving in
SUNDAY - June 11th
Baddies Who Brunch: High energy drag performance with bottomless mimosas and table seating brunch - Independence Park Theatre - Doors open at 10am; Show starts at 11am - $35 Don’t forget to bring singles to tip the fabulous queens!
Hilton Drag Brunch: High energy drag performances, brunch menu and bottomless mimosas - Must be 21 or older - Hilton Baton Rouge Capitol Center - 10am-2pm - $60 Don’t forget to bring singles to tip the fabulous queens!
BASF’s Kid’s Lab: Float or Sink: Explore the science of chemistry during a 45-minute hands-on workshop - Ages 6-12 - Louisiana Arts & Science Museum - 1:30pm & 3pm - Tickets included with regular admission
Mary Poppins Jr.: Central Community Theatre puts on musical based on the popular Disney movie - Manship Theatre - 2pm & 6:30pm - $29
Baton Rouge Super Regional - LSU Baseball: LSU vs UK - Alex Box Stadium - Time to be announced - Tickets required
MONDAY - June 12th
Baton Rouge Super Regional - LSU Baseball: (Only if needed) LSU vs UK - Alex Box Stadium - Time to be announced - Tickets required
TUESDAY - June 13th
Red Stick Farmers Market: Local fruits and vegetables, fresh breads, garden plants, prepared foods, jams, jellies and more - Main Library at Goodwood - 3pm-6pm
WEDNESDAY - June 14th
Red Stick Farmers Market: Local fruits and vegetables, fresh breads, garden plants, prepared foods, jams, jellies and more - ExxonMobil YMCA - 9am-12pm
Sunset Paddle: Youth age 12+ and adults - Milford Wampold Memorial Park - 7pm-8:30pm - Rentals: single kayak-$10; tandem kayak-$20; canoe-$25 - Registration required at brec.org
THURSDAY - June 15th
Red Stick Farmers Market: Local fruits and vegetables, fresh breads, garden plants, prepared foods, jams, jellies and more - Pennington Biomedical Research Center - 8am-12pm
Juneteenth Panel Discussions: Talk will unpack the post-emancipation triumphs of Black Americans - Shaw Center for the Arts - 5pm-7pm
ONGOING TEMPORARY EXHIBITS
Baton Rouge Gallery Center for Contemporary Art: Exhibits by Mary Ann Caffery, Margaret Humphris, Phyllis Lear and David Scott (until June 19) - Free
Capitol Park Museum: Carnival in the Nation’s Capital: The Washington Mardi Gras Ball (until Sept 16) - Creole New Orleans, Honey! The Art of Andrew LaMar Hopkins (until Sept 16) - Back Roads to Back Yards: The Flora and Fauna of South Louisiana (until Oct 28) - The History of Louisiana’s Historically Black Colleges and Universities - Free
Cary Saurage Community Arts Center: Why Pride: A Collaboration with the Trevor Project (until now July 2) - Free
Louisiana Art & Science Museum: Diamonds of History: Mighty Women by Ashley Longshire (until July 2) - Pinpointing the Stars (until Aug 1) - Illustrating Health (until Aug 6) - Our Louisiana (until Jan 14) - Artistry and Accuracy l: Botanical Illustrations by Margaret Stone (until March 3) - Children & Seniors-$10; Adults-$12
Louisiana State Archives: 70th Jubilee Invitational Exhibit (until June 29)
LSU Museum of Art: I, Too, am Thornton Dial (until July 2) - Hank Willis Thomas/Unbranded: Reflections in Black by Corporate America (until July 30) - Children (under 12)-Free; 13 and older-$5
LSU Textile & Costume Museum: Til Trends Do Us Part: A Retrospect in Changing Fashion in Bridal Wear (until Aug 31) - Free
Main Library at Goodwood: Fiber Artists of Louisiana - Guardians, Harbingers and Sentinels (until June 30) - Free
Old State Capitol: Jazz Age Juxtaposition: The Prohibition Era of Louisiana (until Aug 19)- Political Parties and the Culture of Conventions (until Dec 15) - Free
West Baton Rouge Museum: Angela Gregory: Doyenne of Louisiana Sculpture (until Aug 7) - WBRP Resident-Free; Other Adults-$4; Seniors, Military, Students-$2

Twas the night before Supers and all through the land, Folks were a-readyin, all of them fans.
In Winston-Salem they were all Wake ready to get louder, All in support of their Deac' Ace named Rhett Lowder.
In Gainesville they nestled deep in their swamp beds,
While visions of Cags, Sproat, and Wyatt balled through their heads.
The streets of Baton Rouge echo with fervent "L-S-U's"
The herald for baseball legends like Skenes and Crews.
In Virginia the 'Hoos were all ready to deal, With a lineup of O'Donnel, O'Farrall, Gelof, and Teel.
The Cardinal in Stanford snuggle in with a snore, Their future is now with the Fresh Prince Malcolm Moore.
Fort Worth in a flurry, the wreckers of rotations, While the fans all hurry to make Special donations.
The Ducks of Eugene, Super achievers, They quack as one: "Where are the Beavers?"
Mississippi has one proud team that it can still boast, Hattiesburg's ready to show the host with the most.
Not all fans were at home, some were ready to set out, None whistled but some shouted and all called out:
"On, Bama! on, Gamecocks! Go, Big Blue and Blue Devils! On, Texas! on, Sycamores! Go, Vols and Golden Eagles!"
"Roll Tide" called the faithful as a unified set, Their team on a road mission to prove the best bet.
Carolina call as one: We've swept before and we'll sweep again, We've got Petry, we've got Messina, we'll make Gator skin.
In Lexington last week the blue mist became a blue storm, In two days the storm breaks on the Bayou, a thundering blue swarm.
Duke rides north to Charlottesville, confident and no stranger, They've Metz here before, it's the 'Hoos that are in danger.
The Longhorns go west, having weathered the Cane, Dodged again by the Aggies, Bevo complains.
Terre Haute makes ready to host something that's more, While Sycamores turn South, first Super writ large in their lore.
Oral Roberts the only four seed that went through, The best ball club in Oklahoma proven to be true.
Lastly, the gang from Knoxville rallied when all seemed lost, Rising to expectations: Omaha by any road, at any cost.
The Supers are here, the goal is in sight, Good Luck and ONTO OMAHA, and to all a good night.

will actually be rating contestants based on how good they are, not arbitrary things :) will go from last place to first

1. Astrid: somehow served a raw dessert when she had an hour to make it, and as we all know, sloppy and unsanitary. Pretty out of her depth here
   
2. Stephani: arrogant and had consistently bad performances. she kept adding random things to her dishes to stand out, but ending up standing out as the weak link.
   
3. Whitney: nice, friendly girl, but her meatloaf was called a "meat dessert" by Graham. I woulda liked to see her stay over Stephani
   
4. Jordan: mediocre performances in individual challenges and looked lost in team challenges. especially when compared to the other teenager of the season, Ahran, he stood no chance. Nice kid, but didn't had what it takes to win
   
5. Gordon: average, didn't stand out. can't really say much about him
   
6. Kira: seemed to be really engaged and enthusiastic, but didn't really stand out til her unfilled donuts. I know this is the elimination that makes everyone go ......, and it would've made for a better season if Cutter went instead of her (yes, I'm a Courtney apologist lol)
   
7. Tyler: can't say much besides he didn't seem horrible since he got one of the first aprons. Too bad he took Jaimee's panna cotta (BY MISTAKE, people), but at least he took his elimination on the chin
   
8. Elise: didn't really have any high moments and was shown to be too much in her own head. I have no doubt she can cook and can probably bake like an angel, but the competition was too much for her.
   
9. Dan: besides an awesome audition dish, he was consistently in the middle/back of the pack, and didn't even produce stellar spring rolls despite being from Beijing.
   
10. Cutter: had maybe 2 or 3 highs throughout the entire competition and of course, his string of like 4 horrendous performances in a row tank him. Although he minimally improved after the final 13, I didn't see anything great besides his truffles and the offal dish (where he was given the easiest part). He should've left with Elise at final 13 and the competition would've been 10 times better.
    
11. Daniel: had some good early performances but was then consistently in the middle of the pack til the final 11. I like the guy a lot, but he was just floating by til the weakest contestants were gone.
    
12. Francis B: had a few great performances at the start and proved to be a good captain, but he fell to the bottom as fast as he rose to the top. I think the areas he could excel in were limited, and he proved that starting at the steak frites PT.
    
13. Francis L: funny, quirky guy who wasn't afraid to go far outside of the box. he started to go too far off the deep end, and his caramelle which got him eliminated made me think "why would you EVER make that??". he seemed to be great in team challenges though and one probably the best leader of the season. I wish he learned to reign it in a little so he could go further.
    
14. Willie: everyone loves Big Willie, but he kinda just plateaued after a strong start. He is undoubtedly a good baker who puts his heart into everything he makes, but a lot of his later dishes were way too simplistic, like his tomato soup (this is strongly proven in BTW where he skated by to the Top 6). In a competition where you have to elevate everything you make as time goes on, he definitely falls behind in this regard.
    
15. Christine: While she was never the main highlight of individual challenges, she was regarded by Courtney, Elizabeth and Ahran to be Top 5 and really strong. The dishes we saw from here were good, but she didn't stand out a lot. If her truffles weren't so bitter, I think she makes it a lot farther as she definitely seemed capable and had her head on straight. She was also a fantastic leader who didn't want any BS
    
16. Jaimee: just like Willie, everyone loves Jaimee. Despite making Top 6, she only had about 5 really good performances highlighted. Even though she was regarded as a good baker, her panna cotta and croquembouche prevent me from putting her higher as there were many obvious faults with them. She also had to be carried in several team challenges, and was an ineffective leader (not any fault of her though, her condition made it hard)
    
17. Victoria: probably the coolest person this entire season. Friendly to everyone, never made any excuses, was a hard worker, and was known to everyone as the Protein Queen. She may not have stood out as much as the Top 5 did, but she had many great performances and was never on the bottom of a challenge. Her going at Top 10 SUCKS
    
18. Ahran: You either love or hate her, but you can't deny the amount of talent she had at 18. She was determined, focused and ready to learn every step of the way. She had moments of immaturity, but we see far, far worse from those 10 and 20 years older than her. She had a ton of great performances, also was never on the bottom of a challenge and was put in the worst situation with the double elimination pressure test. Her ranking 9th is probably the biggest travesty of the season
    
19. Christian: Christian was shown to be outspoken, determined, and technically skilled. He had many great individual performances and was generally strong in team challenges. However, he started crashing and burning at the final 7, and ending up in the bottom 3 episodes in a row keeps him out my top 3. Still, strong her and stronger on BTW.
    
20. Leslie: ohhhh boy, here we go. Leslie was underestimated by everyone at the start, yet could consistently put out good dishes with flair. Two things I noticed throughout the season is struggles with plating (which I think he improved on in the second half), and constant issues with a lack of seasoning in his food. Between team and individual challenges, I remember him being told off several times for lack of seasoning, and his captaincy during the second team challenge was atrocious. He still remained strong and proved many people wrong, but was too immature throughout the competition and conflict seemed to follow him around. Also, we all know the salt and sugar thing, and who knows the exact details of what happened? Does seem a little shady, but I was never really bothered by it.
    

Now, a controversial final take, but...
I would have to put Courtney and Elizabeth at the same spot, and here's why:
Courtney was the immediate front runner, receiving the first apron and winning the first mystery box. Just like Natasha the previous season, she was targeted by several competitors with curveballs thrown at her, but she managed to overcome them. I think she was generally good in team challenges and was a great leader at the Football one, but she was out her depth in Restaurant Takeover. Despite the controversy behind both the donuts and the final pressure test, she was still very strong, survived several pressure tests, and continuously excelled through the finale. I know how people feel about her, saying she's the worst winner because she's "fake" (like the way she comes off makes her a horrible cook and the worst winner... ok people), but in my book, she's definitely one of the best. She was there for a purpose, made some choices to get through the competition, and prevailed.
Elizabeth is considered to be the best of the season by many, and maybe one of the best of all time. Her consistency is nearly unmatched, winning every team challenge, never being in a pressure test, and exceeding expectations at nearly every point. In fact, she was immune from participating in 11 challenges, probably more than any contestant ever. However, I think never being in a pressure test was her biggest downfall. Courtney had already been through 3 pressure tests and clearly knew how to manage her time, while Elizabeth had completely avoided them, and this lack of time management hurt her in the finale. Whether they wanted Courtney to win or Elizabeth dropped the ball hard enough to lose, who knows. She's still an awesome cook with a petty attitude (which I don't mind), and was rightfully considered top competition by everyone.
lmk your thoughts in the comments please!

Company Name	Title	City
Solar Alternatives	Solar Installer	New Orleans
Solar Alternatives	Journeyman Electrician	New Orleans
Solar Alternatives	Journeyman Electrician	Shreveport
Capital One	Associate	Lafayette
Houston Methodist Hospital	Registered Nurse (RN) - Relocate to Houston	Baton Rouge
Houston Methodist Hospital	RN	Chalmette
Houston Methodist Hospital	Registered Nurse (RN) - Relocate to Houston	Chalmette
Houston Methodist Hospital	Registered Nurse (RN)	Chalmette
Houston Methodist Hospital	Registered Nurse (RN)	Gretna
Houston Methodist Hospital	RN	Gretna
Houston Methodist Hospital	Registered Nurse (RN) - Relocate to Houston	Gretna
Advanced Dental Concepts	Dental Hygienist	Hammond
Houston Methodist Hospital	Registered Nurse (RN) - Relocate to Houston	Houma
Houston Methodist Hospital	Registered Nurse (RN) - Relocate to Houston	Kenner
Houston Methodist Hospital	RN	Kenner
Dental Care at Teche Ridge	Dental Hygienist	Lafayette
Transdevna	Operator - Paratransit FT	Laplace
Houston Methodist Hospital	Registered Nurse (RN) - Relocate to Houston	Luling
Louisiana Restaurant Association	Regional Director	METAIRIE
Louisiana Restaurant Association	Caterer	METAIRIE
Houston Methodist Hospital	Registered Nurse (RN) - Relocate to Houston	Metairie
Houston Methodist Hospital	Registered Nurse (RN) - Relocate to Houston	Monroe
Dental Care at Teche Ridge	Hygiene Assistant	New Iberia
Dental Care at Teche Ridge	Dental Hygienist	New Iberia
Houston Methodist Hospital	Registered Nurse (RN) - Relocate to Houston	New Orleans

Hey guys, here are some recent job openings in la. Feel free to comment here or send me a private message if you have any questions, I'm at the community's disposal! If you encounter any problems with any of these job openings please let me know that I will modify the table accordingly. Thanks!

Company Name	Title	City
Solar Alternatives	Solar Installer	New Orleans
Solar Alternatives	Journeyman Electrician	New Orleans
Solar Alternatives	Journeyman Electrician	Shreveport
Capital One	Associate	Lafayette
Houston Methodist Hospital	Registered Nurse (RN) - Relocate to Houston	Baton Rouge
Houston Methodist Hospital	RN	Chalmette
Houston Methodist Hospital	Registered Nurse (RN) - Relocate to Houston	Chalmette
Houston Methodist Hospital	Registered Nurse (RN)	Chalmette
Houston Methodist Hospital	Registered Nurse (RN)	Gretna
Houston Methodist Hospital	RN	Gretna
Houston Methodist Hospital	Registered Nurse (RN) - Relocate to Houston	Gretna
Advanced Dental Concepts	Dental Hygienist	Hammond
Houston Methodist Hospital	Registered Nurse (RN) - Relocate to Houston	Houma
Houston Methodist Hospital	Registered Nurse (RN) - Relocate to Houston	Kenner
Houston Methodist Hospital	RN	Kenner
Dental Care at Teche Ridge	Dental Hygienist	Lafayette
Transdevna	Operator - Paratransit FT	Laplace
Houston Methodist Hospital	Registered Nurse (RN) - Relocate to Houston	Luling
Louisiana Restaurant Association	Regional Director	METAIRIE
Louisiana Restaurant Association	Caterer	METAIRIE
Houston Methodist Hospital	Registered Nurse (RN) - Relocate to Houston	Metairie
Houston Methodist Hospital	Registered Nurse (RN) - Relocate to Houston	Monroe
Dental Care at Teche Ridge	Hygiene Assistant	New Iberia
Dental Care at Teche Ridge	Dental Hygienist	New Iberia
Houston Methodist Hospital	Registered Nurse (RN) - Relocate to Houston	New Orleans

Hey guys, here are some recent job openings in la. Feel free to comment here or send me a private message if you have any questions, I'm at the community's disposal! If you encounter any problems with any of these job openings please let me know that I will modify the table accordingly. Thanks!

Company Name	Title	City
Solar Alternatives	Solar Installer	New Orleans
Solar Alternatives	Journeyman Electrician	New Orleans
Solar Alternatives	Journeyman Electrician	Shreveport
Capital One	Associate	Lafayette
Houston Methodist Hospital	Registered Nurse (RN) - Relocate to Houston	Baton Rouge
Houston Methodist Hospital	RN	Chalmette
Houston Methodist Hospital	Registered Nurse (RN) - Relocate to Houston	Chalmette
Houston Methodist Hospital	Registered Nurse (RN)	Chalmette
Houston Methodist Hospital	Registered Nurse (RN)	Gretna
Houston Methodist Hospital	RN	Gretna
Houston Methodist Hospital	Registered Nurse (RN) - Relocate to Houston	Gretna
Advanced Dental Concepts	Dental Hygienist	Hammond
Houston Methodist Hospital	Registered Nurse (RN) - Relocate to Houston	Houma
Houston Methodist Hospital	Registered Nurse (RN) - Relocate to Houston	Kenner
Houston Methodist Hospital	RN	Kenner
Dental Care at Teche Ridge	Dental Hygienist	Lafayette
Transdevna	Operator - Paratransit FT	Laplace
Houston Methodist Hospital	Registered Nurse (RN) - Relocate to Houston	Luling
Louisiana Restaurant Association	Regional Director	METAIRIE
Louisiana Restaurant Association	Caterer	METAIRIE
Houston Methodist Hospital	Registered Nurse (RN) - Relocate to Houston	Metairie
Houston Methodist Hospital	Registered Nurse (RN) - Relocate to Houston	Monroe
Dental Care at Teche Ridge	Hygiene Assistant	New Iberia
Dental Care at Teche Ridge	Dental Hygienist	New Iberia
Houston Methodist Hospital	Registered Nurse (RN) - Relocate to Houston	New Orleans

Hey guys, here are some recent job openings in la. Feel free to comment here or send me a private message if you have any questions, I'm at the community's disposal! If you encounter any problems with any of these job openings please let me know that I will modify the table accordingly. Thanks!

Galactic Social Dynamic: Two Years and a wedding. (GSD #99)
////Two years after the Scareek attack on Hakkith////
"Fuck!" Emma swore as she punched her wall.
Jess' head peeked in from her passing in the hall. Silly did as well while making a low, sad trilling sound.
"Did Sun get out again?" Jess asked. "Or Sand, or both?"
The two ferrets squeaked in the tubes that ran the length of the home unit.
"No." Emma sighed. "Rillke took the bullet for me. "He's taking the first 5 years at HQ."
Jess smiled, "Why wouldn't he, now he can annoy the Senators all day!"
Emma smirked, proud of her soon to be husband. In the two years since their engagement he had shifted the Uoplo senator to his understanding of humanity. It had saved his position and while the Uoplo people were now split between accepting humanity and seeing them as rivals there was less of a concern over the Uoplo heading into civil war.
"He does." Emma smiled. "But I wanted to do that first." She feigned at pouting.
Jess laughed. "Silly and I are going to the park."
"Okay, stay safe!" Emma shouted.
She knew that both would be safe. The Homers were still seen as an oddity and something to pity, but never something to anger. A Bodivayne found that out the hard way when they challenged the Captain of the EIN Loki, the most agile of the smaller crafts humanity had. The Captain's assigned home had quickly put the powerful centaurian alien onto the ground in second and pinned him even faster. It had been a nightmare diplomatic situation at first before the Bodivayne ambassador laughed it off and called his own kind out on challenging a human.
Jess l herself was no slouch. Since the Scareek attack on the Galactic Social Dynamic the young girl had been learning to defend herself and Van had been providing the lessons, lessons that soon blossomed into him having many students. He now taught self defense two days a week.
Yes, Jess and Silly were both very safe.
Emma checked her purse for her spare sidearm and secured her main side arm as she left not long after Jess and Silly did. She made her way to engineering. Shoal was shouting orders as usual and Jack the engineering Intelligence was shouting them louder when they were seemingly annoyed. The two fit each other perfectly, even if they would never admit it.
"Emma!" Shoal shouted as he saw his friend. He waved and walked over, discarding his heavy work gloves as he did so. "Lunch?"
Emma smiled and nodded.
Soon they were in the closest thing they had to the old Omnivore Lounge of the old ship. It was a new human restaurant, well human in ownership, called "The Everything Galaxy". They specialized in nothing and had almost every edible meal in the Alliance. They even stored some canned gasses for the few Glosht that were unable to return to their world.
Shoal was grinning as he measured his BLT sandwich. Emma had to laugh, he had done the same thing nearly five years ago when he had his first one and he had done it ever since.
"Gleve should be here soon." Emma sighed.
"He'll be here." Shoal nodded to the entrance and not long after their large, shelled friend entered.
Gleve wandered over to the table and put in an order for a vegan Cesar salad.
"So its like that first lunch is it?" Emma smiled.
"Emma, we have had silence from the Scareek for nearly two years and we're pushing them back." Gleve said calmly. "We deserve to celebrate happy memories and to make new ones."
Emma smiled and nodded as she welcomed her plate. "Well, I'm making a new memory of this..."
"Goulta-Goulta." The server smiled. "Uoplo favorite. Basically their meat salad."
Emma nodded and picked up her fork.
Shoal sighed and laughed. "I'll never let bacon leave me." He playfully hugged his sandwich.
"I'm still sad there's a salad named for a dead man." Gleve admitted.
Emma snorted a laugh out.
Shoal sighed and patted his friend.
Then the three sat and chatted. It was their weekly routine and they all cherished it.
-(GSD)---(GSD)-
Rillke was staring at the odd decorations Emma had picked for their human wedding. He had tried to help, but proved to be utterly lost in human design choices. He did have to admit he liked the choice of stars and space as the theme though, he just didn't understand the many odd fantastical creatures that were tossed in.
Specifically the unicorn, it scared him as he had seen a horse attack a man and he did not think any kind god would give one of those a horn. The other thing that worried him were the security drones being run by a few Intelligences that were absolutely ecstatic to be a part of this event.
He eventually pulled his thoughts back to focus. He was about to be married in human tradition and then next week a small ceremony for the Uoplo traditions. Sadly he could not offer Emma the same lavish ceremony, Uoplo bonding ceremonies were almost always private and small.
He looked up at The Captain, Captain Bulwark, as it preferred. The Forge had come out of its home system for the sole purpose of officiating the wedding. It was now in a sparkling chrome frame that was a full upgrade from its original design. It still had the odd oval shaped disc for a head, but now it also had multiple lenses and its hands were now more articulated and better suited for full interaction. The frame was a fair two meters tall, slender and powerful looking. No longer were its wires exposed or its gears. This was the new look of the Forge and it was as intimidating as anyone could expect. It was also etched with scenes off the Forge fighting alongside many of the Alliance's lost species. The Forge had long memories and were clearly not about to let the galaxy forget any of their friends.
Rillke smiled at that, then frowned. He remembered a time he would have seen that as a weakness. And in thatoment he realized the strength humanity had brought to the stars, they had made more than an alliance with the other species. They had made a home and community with them.
The music started and Rillke jumped slightly. The guests let a small roll of laughter out and he bowed, slightly embarrassed.
He watched down the hall as Emma came walking down by herself. She had elected to not "be given away", but to give of herself. Rillke's smile widened as he recalled the argument she had with her father when he arrived. Van had to remind him that it was her choice. Rillke had simply sat in Emma's corner, smiling and drinking his coffee. He knew Emma would win that fight. As she walked down the aisle she wore a simple white gown-suit that she had designed for this occasion.
It was a strong white and gray blouse that was accompanied by a shawl of white lace that her mother had provided and what first appeared to be a simple dress, but when one looked closer they could see that it was simply two large puffy pants legs. She had called them "bell bottoms".
Then she was next to him.
Captain Bulwark started his officiation. Rillke was barely paying any attention to it. He was entranced by the woman before him. Her kindness, despite his rude and combative nature, had shown him what diplomacy was truly about. She had changed him and he was proud of that.
He felt a poke.
"Your vows." Captain Bulwark said as it simulated a throat clearing sound.
"Oh..." Rillke paused as he pulled a card out from the pocket of his suit. He knew better than to try to memorize this on such a nerve wracking day.
Emma giggled.
"We are two ships that were never meant for each other. I was ready for a fight, to bring the arms of my people to show our might. You are a delegation of kindness and civility. You went down a path to help me in my time of hurt and showed me a way forward I had not dreamed of. I laid down my arms and bowed before you for your forgiveness. You have given me much more and I can only hope I can repay some small fraction of it in our journey through this life together."
Rillke paused and the gathered audience of family and friends erupted into clapping. He noted however, Emma's father did not. At least not until her mother slugged him in the shoulder to join in. It was at that moment that Rillke realized it was Emma's mother who had a very small familial resemblance to Van. Suddenly her father's behavior made more sense to him.
Emma cleared her throat.
Rillke looked up at her with a smile.
"I love you. I will always love you. And in this journey we call life, if I leave before you, I want you to always remember that." Emma smiled.
Rillke nodded, he understood. What he understood he wasn't sure of at the moment, but he understood.
Then as the Captain advised their vows were finished, they embraced and kissed. It was always an odd sight to watch for any of those gathered.
After the ceremony was the reception. It was a party unmatched for four years when an Earth entrepreneur rented out an entire party ship from "The Galactic Rumpus Room" and somehow crashed it on a deserted moon.
The friends and family all recorded their well wishes and hopes. Emma and Rillke were reviewing them in private later when Rillke had to stop the recording. He stammered and pointed at the screen.
Emma turned from talking with Jess and saw the image. A young red headed woman in a red hoodie was waving with a sign that read, "Thank you." Next to the young woman was a man whose face she had only seen projected from the Captain once. He was average in every way except that he was long, long dead in this reality. He looked bored in the first few frames, then smiled as The Captain entered his sight.
Emma felt her hands shake.
"She did make it." Rillke sighed.
"The Forge were right." Emma smiled and took a deep breath. "And they found each other.
"A happy ending for them at least." Rillke nodded.
"A new beginning, I think." Emma smiled and centered the image to be cropped and cleaned up.
"Friends?" Jess asked.
Rillke nodded. "We thought we had lost her. She was looking for her father."
Jess nodded. "Glad she could find him. I'm going to crash."
Emma waved and Rillke nodded.
"So what chaos do you think comes next?" Rillke grumbled.
"Teen years." Emma smiled and nodded to Jess.
Rillke nodded in agreement. "Well at least your heart can let the guilt go."
Emma nodded. "Time to move forward."
////END CHAPTER////
First
Previous GSD!
Previous Zoo-nanigans
Next GSD!
Next Zoo-nanigans
Spotify!
////\\\\
So I lied just a teensy bit.
She got to let them know. Anna wouldn't just leave them hanging like that.
As for why I lied? I can't give everything away guys. There has to be something to surprise you all.
And the next chapter will be the last for this volume. With a bit of what I think is a nice twist.
Nothing cruel, but interesting.

This case is nearly 40yrs. old. It's thought that she may have been the victim of serial killer.
https://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/news/crime_police/baton-rouge-homicide-detectives-take-new-look-at-1985-murder-of-lsu-graduate-student/article_c1c53ac0-be1f-5bc8-9b30-bc45e7b35419.html

“There were rules, Mafia codes you had to go by. But the code is ridiculous. It's a code among sociopaths.” David Chase (creator: The Sopranos)
Chapter Three: Tiffany and The Ax

1. ANTIBES, FRANCE. Jude sat at a small table outside La Forge Restaurant on Jacques Audiberti Place. The petite square was bustling with late morning activity. He sipped an espresso and paged through his USA Today. A group of teenagers passed loudly through the square on their way to the beach from a hostel. Tiffany and her girlfriend were with the group. He had been watching her for about a week now but the right opportunity hadn't presented itself.

He told himself he wasn't delaying the operation because he was on an unlimited expense account and his target was spending the summer on the Cote d'Azur. He supposed milking a client that way would be unethical. The thought amused him. It really was because he hadn't found the perfect chance to kill her. Mostly. Mostly that was it.
He noted that the Tour de France was passing through the area and decided to find a place to watch the event. And then there was the Musee Picasso on Place Mariejol. He didn't want to miss that.
He could kill Tiffany tomorrow. Or the next day.
Finally it was the weather that forced his hand. A fierce summer storm was predicted for that week. Such an event would make Tiffany's movements unpredictable. She might stay in and weather it, as he would then have to do as well or she might catch the train to a fairer climate. He had no doubt he could find her again, but uncertainties made him uncomfortable. The night before the storm rolled in, he got his perfect opportunity.
It was late, past midnight. Jude had been watching Tiffany as she snuck away with a young man, an Australian, Jude guessed. They had been drinking on the beach, the Plage Gravette, having snuck on after it closed. The location couldn't have been more perfect if Karsen picked it himself. It was surrounded by walls on three sides and faced the ocean. It wasn't lit other than the light kicking off the surrounding apartment buildings. And with the cloud cover from the oncoming storm, it was all but impossible for anyone in the overlooking apartment buildings to see any activity on the beach that night.
Tiffany's male companion passed out after sex. Tiffany lay there, quite drunk herself. Finally she got up and staggered towards the road. Jude watched from the shadows as she came right towards him. She passed one bum, fast asleep by the wall and entered into the tunnel leading from the beach. She never saw Karsen.
She cried out for a split second. But Jude covered her mouth with gloved hands and snapped her neck. He carried her body off the beach, out the gate to the Quai Henri Rambaud and onto a waiting boat.
While Jude piloted the motorboat out into the ocean, into the face of the storm, his partner prepared the body. When they reached far enough out, they dumped the pretty, blonde teenager over the side. And started a media firestorm.
​
Tiffany Teague was an ordinary American girl. She was from the state of New York. Wynantskill, specifically. A hamlet outside of Albany. She was a junior in college, attending Cedar Crest College in Allentown, PA, an all women's school. She liked Justin Timberlake and Fallout Boy and thought that Paul Walker was the perfect man.
Edward and Maggie Teague weren't rich, or even well off after several failed business ventures, but they doted on their kids and helped Tiffany save for a summer of backpacking in Europe. They were proud of the fact that while most of Tiffany's friends were sitting around getting drunk and pregnant, Tiffany would be learning about the world. They probably wouldn't have been pleased with how she spent her last hours alive.
When she vanished, they began a tireless campaign. Like all parents faced with an unsolvable mystery of this type, they played nightmare scenarios over and over in their heads. Was it worse that she was dead? Or was it worse that she was alive, perhaps living in some horrible situation? Which to hope for? How to pray?
The case caught the attention of Nancy Grace and Greta Van Susteren. The resulting media pressure caused France, the United States and Australia (the home of the poor drunken boy last known to be with her) to redouble their efforts on Tiffany's behalf.
But there was no trace to be found. No clue as to her disappearance. The Australian boy, somewhat of a loathsome cad, found himself now reviled as a murderer. For the life of him, he could barely remember their last hours together. He didn't even remember having slept with her on the beach. A fact attested to by the drunk who watched it, but his testimony was highly questionable.
No one would ever have tied it to a case in Federal Court from almost two years before. The prosecution of a small time thug named Paulie Azeglio. In 2002 Paulie was convicted under U.S.C. § 2315 Sale or receipt of stolen goods, securities or monies. He was sentenced to three years, but died in prison in 2003. His death was retribution in an ongoing organized crime power struggle involving his infamous father, Frank “The Ax” Azeglio. Edward Teague was a juror in the trial that convicted Paulie.
​
NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK. Two and half months before Tiffany's death, Jude was in the living room of his home in Sherman Oaks. He had his laptop hooked up to his 70 inch big screen television and he was sitting on the couch watching porn when his cell phone rang with an unknown number. Normally he wouldn't have answered it, but the area code was from New York. And he got a prickly feeling at the back of his neck. So he managed to get his hands clean in time to answer the call before it kicked over to voice mail.
The speaker was abrupt. A limousine would be arriving at his home in forty-five minutes. It would take him to the airport. He would fly to New York, JFK International and be picked up from there for a meeting. After the meeting he would be taken to a hotel before being flown back to L.A. the following afternoon. The option to refuse this was not offered. And Jude, recognizing the voice, knowing the caller by reputation, never once thought of turning it down. He got up, showered and packed an over-night bag. The limo was right on time.
When he arrived in New York, it was almost 4 AM. Another limo was waiting for him and the ride from the airport took forty-five minutes. Jude slept for most of it as it was past one in the morning, California time. He woke from the sound of the limo coming to a stop. The driver opened the door and Jude stepped out, stretching as he did so.
He was in a warehouse complex. Dull orange lights hung from the corners of buildings in halos of mist. The ocean was nearby, though he couldn't see it. He could smell the salt in the air and hear the not-so-distant sound of compressed surf crunching against a wharf. This was an old complex. Rust rotted through the walls of the buildings. Some were missing whole panels.
The limo drove away, leaving him alone. For a moment, there was a tightness in his chest. Anxiety. He didn’t have a gun. He wasn’t armed but that was unavoidable. He pushed it away. Calculated the odds. It was unlikely they brought him this far just to kill him. Unlikely, but not impossible. He pushed the thought away again. You never knew for sure when dealing with the Mafia. Before anxiety consumed him, a door opened. Twenty feet away, a large man wearing a suit stepped out of the darkness and motioned him to come forward. Karsen did not feel better.
The man searched Karsen, patting him down. Karsen didn't object. When the man was satisfied, he waved Jude through the doorway. Neither of them spoke.
Karsen moved cautiously into the old warehouse. It was a huge empty place. Dim light filtered in from broken windows high above. Deep shadows hung like curtains through cavernous space. Karsen lit a cigarette and walked, kept walking towards the center of the warehouse. Finally, seeing no objective and hearing the door crash closed behind him, he stopped. In a dim pool of light drizzling in from a broken window high above.
Footsteps echoed out of the shadows. Coming towards him. Gradually a man emerged from the gloom. He stopped a few feet from Jude. The man was in his late fifties or early sixties. Obviously Italian. His hair was steel grey and his manner was one that assumed authority.
Jude stared at Frank “The Ax” Azeglio. He took a drag on his cigarette and exhaled softly. Frank spoke.
“Mr. Karsen.”
“Yeah.”
“Put out your cigarette. My sinuses...”
“Oh. Sorry.” Jude dropped the smoke and crushed it with his shoe.
“Thank you. And thank you for coming.”
“Sure.”
“I have a job for you, Mr. Karsen.” With gloved hands, Frank the Ax passed a manila envelope to Karsen.
“Family member?” asked Jude.
“No.”
“One of the bosses?”
“Is this a quiz show? Open the fucking envelope.” Azeglio pulled out a bottle of nasal spray and took a squirt up each nostril.
Karsen skimmed the information and looked at the photo. A photo of Tiffany Teague. He glanced back up at Azeglio, curiosity on his face.
“This is a teenage girl.”
Frank stared at him. Silent. Jude shot him a small, knowing smile.
“Sure. I'll do it. Any special requests?”
“Make it quick and painless. Make the body disappear.”
Jude nodded and slid the papers back into the envelope. Something was weird about this. There was a reason Frank called him in the middle of the night, flew him across the country. There was a reason they were meeting in this warehouse instead of some back room of a restaurant. Something about this contract was different.
“A mil,” said Jude. “Plus expenses.”
The Ax didn't hesitate or negotiate. “I'll have it wired to your account. Bill me the expenses through our usual contact.”
“You got a deal.” Karsen handed the envelope back to Frank.
“Don't you need this information?”
“I have what I need memorized. I don’t want to carry that file past the TSA.” Karsen turned and walked towards the door. He hadn't gone more than a couple feet before Frank spoke again.
“Mr. Karsen.”
Jude stopped and turned to the mob boss.
“I want you to know why.”
Jude shifted uncomfortably. He was itching to go and he felt the nascent urge to urinate. But it was more than that. Somehow he felt that the longer he stayed, the more...culpable he was. It was an irrational, random thought, but it nagged him. It put an urgency on him.
“That's not necessary. I prefer not to know. To know as little as possible.”
“But I want you to know.”
Jude stood there quietly. He desperately wanted a smoke. Frank “The Ax” began to speak.
“My son Paul. Francis Paul Azeglio Jr, you know I wanted a better life for him. Wanted him to go to college, maybe join the military. I didn't want this life for him. This life that you and I lead. I wanted better for my children. Wasn't that the point of fighting my way out of the gutters and back alleys of Brooklyn? And I did it. I gave my children everything. Paul was raised in luxury. He got an excellent education at a private school. He had all the opportunities of privilege at his fingertips. Opportunities I bled and made others bleed to win for him.
“All I wanted was for him to be a doctor or a stockbroker or even a musician. To have a family and give me grandchildren. I wanted my son to escape this life that I was forced into by simple economics and...certain skills I had that others lacked. You understand me, Mr. Karsen?”
“I don't have children,” Jude regretted it the moment it came out his mouth. Frank's expression clouded and his brow furrowed.
“But I get your point,” Karsen added quickly.
“Every father worth a damn wants to protect his children. Of course, to my son, it seemed like I thought he wasn't up to it, like I thought he wasn't tough enough for the job....” Frank trailed off, staring up at the shattered windows with their rusted frames. “Which, of course, was the absolute truth.”
They were silent. Jude's need to piss was growing stronger. But there was no way to leave this conversation. Not until Frank the Ax was done. Was this a confession wondered Jude? Karsen suspected Frank was probably a Catholic. How did he suddenly become this man's priest?
Frank finally broke the silence. “Did your father respect you?”
Ahh jeez, thought Jude, “I broke his jaw when I was sixteen. After that it didn't matter.”
“Bullshit. It always matters. I never even knew my father and I still wonder what he would've thought of me, to this very day. But you took respect from your dad the day you cracked his face.”
“I don't know. I didn't see him much after that.”
“Right...right,” Frank sighed. “Paul wanted my respect. He wanted to impress me, not just as a son or even as a man, he wanted my respect as a gangster. He coulda done anything and I woulda been proud of him. But he wanted to be good, be great at what I was great at. You understand?”
“I think so.”
“This kid...this right side of the tracks, white kid who never had to fight in his life, decided he was smart enough to do a major job, like it was some movie or one of these cable TV shows. He stole a container full of flatscreen TVs and tried to fence. He wanted to bring down a big score, just like the stories he'd heard his old man tell the boys, when he shoulda been in bed at night...”
“He got caught.”
“Of course he got caught. Grand Theft Auto was a video game to him. To me, it was a way of life.” Frank muttered something under his breath that Jude didn't make out.
“What?”
“Nothing. Because Paul went across state lines it was a Federal Crime. Ahh, that shouldn't have mattered. I got the best lawyers, greased the skids with the Judge and the prosecutor. They offered a decent deal, but not enough. I didn't want my boy to do a day inside. So it went to trial. Still shouldn't have been a problem. I hired one of those fancy jury consultant companies and wired the jury...but one slipped by. One man named Edward Teague. Real Dudley do-right. From my man inside, he tells me this Edward Teague bullied this jury, harassed this jury, and wore them out by dragging it on for days so they finally gave in and convicted. They didn't want to convict. But this guy...this guy...he was the foreman and he all but forced them...”
Something didn't ring true about this story, but Jude wasn't about to question a man nicked-named 'The Ax'.
“Tough break.”
“So my sweetheart baby boy, my only son...went to the Federal Pen. God, the way he acted, like it was a badge of honor, like I should be proud of him. I told him-”
Frank stopped, his voice catching as the memory overcame him. He composed himself and wiped a tear, passing it off as rubbing the bridge of his nose.
“I told him. Keep your head down. Do your time quietly and he'd be taken care of. Mob guys can be very safe inside. But he... he still had something to prove...”
Another tear slid silently down the mafia don's cheeks. Jude wanted desperately to leave. But he felt he had to say something at this point.
“He's dead.”
“I got the guys that did him. I got them already.” Frank wiped the tears from his face and his manner changed. As he spoke, a slow rage filled his voice. “Now. Now I want Edward Teague. Juror number nine. I want him to suffer like I do. To live without his precious child, his daughter that he dotes on, that he loves. I want to rip her out of his arms.” His voice seethed with hatred.
“I want him to hurt...you understand me? I want him to have this hole in his heart. This ache, this, this horrible, empty, loss torn into his soul.”
Frank stepped closer to Jude, until he was so near Jude could smell the faint medicinal scent of nasal spray on the man's breath. He was so uncomfortable that he wanted to burst out laughing, but knew that would mean his instant death. Not figuratively. Frank, in this moment, would kill him for disrespect. It was the thought of his own face being bludgeoned that drove the amusement away.
Brutality filled Azeglio's voice, “I want to take his daughter from him and I want him to live the rest of his life never knowing what happened to her.”
The cold hatred that burned out of the man was awful in its intensity. His eyes cut into Jude's with the horror of emptiness. Without another word, Frank turned and walked back into the darkness.

TLDR: GTAO should let you rob banks in free mode, do criminal shit at bars, and do more than 5 bounty missions.
I had some fun with the Taxi activity, mostly because it gave me a reason to drive through Los Santos (which I typically end up flying over), and it enabled me to do some fun serial killer RP.
I think GTA Online has broadly fun gameplay, but a lot of what builds on that is the weird little ways you can interact with the world that in turn give you fun things to do that aren’t necessarily that profitable, but don’t have to be, because doing them is more about the mission itself and like, low level roleplaying that immersive sims (which GTA V/Online kind of is, even if it’s first and foremost a sandbox game) tend to encourage you to engage in without even thinking about it.
Like, a great example from earlier in the games history is the convenience stores. Most of the time they’re just a fast source of snacks and alcohol, but if you want to do a small time robbery spree that stretches across San Andreas, the game accounts for that and allows you to do it in free mode. It’s not as profitable as just doing Cayo Perico, but it doesn't have to be, it’s about the fact that the game lets you do it.
That said, I think GTA Online has nearly endless potential for more of this content to be added in, at least until the next GTA (I dare not say it’s name for fear I’ll be struck by fist of the automod) comes out, and an update (or trickle of smaller updates) that just adds little things to do in free mode might freshen up gameplay. These are just basic ideas, but I think they’re broadly in line with the vibe of GTA and the types of activities that already exist.
-Banks
There’s already at least one heist where you rob a bank, and there’s a resupply mission where you have to rob a bank and use what you steal to make counterfeit money (idk, maybe it’s a laundering operation as well as a counterfeiting ring?) Those are both neat missions, but what if there were just a half dozen low level banks that the player could just walk into and attempt to rob? Like, your only going to get a take of a couple of grand, but it would give you a more free form way to rob banks, and without forcing you to prep for a heist or play the counterfeiting resupply lottery.
-Bars/Restaurants
Restaurants are more of a side idea tbh, as they’d mostly serve as a way to get drunk, refresh health if you run out of snacks, and maybe get an XP boost after eating there (ie, your doing in character shit so you get +5/10% XP for the next few hours/day).
Bars on the other hand, seem like they should already be a thing in this game. Like, there are already strip clubs, and there are at least two more hole in the wall style bars that are fully rendered, although you can only access of them in a biker resupply mission. It wouldn’t take that long to fix this by just making the locked bar accessible all the time, throwing some shady looking NPCs in there, and adding a bartender who sells beer and vodka. This could be done without making any new interiors or new scripts, and while it wouldn’t add that much to the game, it would add a couple of cool places that you could do random stuff in, and doing random stuff is part of what makes this game fun.
If the devs wanted to get a bit more ambitious, they could also make like a dozen “bar missions” that are essentially a guy in a bar being like “hay, I’ll give you a grand to kill this guy/steal this guys ride/rob this guy/beat this guy up” and show up randomly. Basically low rent pay phone hits, but not necessarily always lethal. This feels like stuff that a gta protagonist whose not in the process of doing an elaborate island heist would do, and it’d make the the world more interesting if you where sometimes walking down the street and just witnessed a player pouring gasoline on an NPCs car and setting it on fire or something.
-Bounty Missions
Maybe I’m a simple soul, but there was something oddly relaxing and satisfying about driving into a neighborhood, strolling around until my spidy senses got all tingly, and then bum rushing some dude with a baton to get him to go to court. Getting the axe at the end was great, it’s a really fun axe, but at the same time, the fact that you can’t repeat those missions kind of sucks. I’m not positive, but I’m pretty sure it’d be as simple as allowing the player to call the mission giver, and have her randomly assigned you one of the already existing bounty missions. Again, they don’t have to pay as well as the original missions, but it’d be nice if we could do them. I may be missing something key about the way those missions are set up, but it also seems like it’d be pretty easy to make a more of them, or even make them somewhat radiant so that the NPC can theoretically be in any populated area of the map. It’d also be great for people who like to roleplay as cops, as they could essentially treat the bounties like 9/11 calls.
Idk how feasible it is that any of this be implemented, but the aforementioned cab missions and the new radiant mission where you can raid a drug dealers house have kind of given me hope that R* is getting a little more into this type of thing. I’d be super interested in other ideas people have for more stuff like this, or extensions of the ideas mentioned!

I have this recurring nightmare. I attend this school where odd things happen. In this school, there are people I’ve never met before. Classes I’ve never taken.
Every time I have this dream, I enter a classroom that is listed on my class schedule, and the teacher yells at me for not showing up for weeks or even months. The teacher embarrasses me in front of the class and makes me do work that I didn’t even study for.
I guess it’s not the SCARIEST thing someone can dream about, but being forced to do a mountain of missed classwork is horrible. It also feels embarrassing being humiliated in front of this made-up class. It always feels too real.
I also get variations of this nightmare. Sometimes I dream that I’m running through the halls of the school trying to find where a class is. Then, by the time I find the classroom with the right room number, it’s too late, class is over. Detention.
I’ve had these types of dreams so many times that it feels like I’m enrolled in a completely different school in my mind when I’m asleep. I even have a mental image of what the school looks like from the outside after all those times I’ve been in recess or in the parking lot in other dreams.
Sometimes it’s a class with a teacher from an earlier dream, other times it’s completely different.
I figured these dreams were based on past experiences from elementary, middle, and high school that manifest themselves into vivid simulations from the back of my mind. But then three days ago I found out that it was a lot more than that.
My friend Santiago and I ride motorcycles together when the weather is nice. For weeks we were planning on going to this huge motorcycle meetup together. Before the meetup started, we wanted to rendezvous at his house and then ride our motorcycles to the spot together.
I rode my motorcycle from my house to his using my GPS. I’ve never been to his house before. He lived about thirty-five minutes away from me in a town I’ve passed by but never visited. As soon as I got to his house, Santiago was already turning on his motorcycle in front of his garage.
“Hey man, how’ve you been?” I spoke.
“Good, and you?” he replied.
“Great. I love this weather. You ready to go?”
“Hold on, let me put my dogs inside”.
Once we were all set to go, Santiago rode his motorcycle in front of me as I followed. He knew his way around to get us out of the neighborhood and back on the main road.
Now here’s where things get weird. Between the cluster of suburban neighborhood houses there was a long building that broke the pattern. I saw it in the distance as Santiago and I rode closer. The building was sitting on a hill and just looked unnatural in its place.
As we got past each stop sign and rode closer, the building strangely kept looking more and more familiar. I kept my bike going at a decent speed of 20 miles per hour. I intended to look at this building closely and drove slowly
Then, Santiago and I passed by the front of the building. I constantly turned my head to look at it, then to the road so I didn’t fall or crash. But once we were right in front of it, I just stared. I realized it when I saw the main doors.
It was... just like in my dreams. A long one-story building sitting on top of a grassy green hill. The same distinct main entrance doors. A red and yellow playground on the side of the building. A medium sized parking lot.
There was something so liminal about this building. Almost like those liminal spaces pictures that you see everywhere online. The building did not look real, but it was there right in front of me.
Once I turned my head back to the road, we reached the next stop sign and I nearly bumped tires with Santiago’s bike. Then, eventually, Santiago and I got farther, and farther away.
The rest of the day went well. We went to the meetup, saw a bunch of cool motorcycles, ate at a restaurant in the area, then parted ways and headed home. I had almost forgotten about the building until I rode home on my motorcycle and had time to think about it.
I thought, “What was that place? A school? Why did it look almost the exact same as that school that I see in my dreams? Have I been there before? No, that can’t be. I’ve never visited such a specific neighborhood before. There’s no way I’ve seen this building in my life. It’s just not possible for this dream school to be real.
Last night, I dreamed of the school again. It started off with me looking at the time. It was noon and I was just arriving to school. I was walking towards the entrance in a hurry. I entered the building, and the students were walking in the halls as usual.
I checked my schedule to see where I had to go next. In the list of unintelligible writing, I somehow deduced that I had to go to pottery class. I walked in an aimless direction until I reached a small classroom.
An old man with white hair and glasses looked at me angrily as I took my seat. I always hated old grumpy teachers. This guy was no different
“WHERE have YOU been. What, you don’t think this class is IMPORTANT? You haven’t even started on the first project and we’re already on PROJECT FOUR.”
As always, I just sit there, confused and ashamed. The entire class giggling or shaking their heads in disappointment. The teacher gave me the angriest face as his right hand shook while holding a small pot. Right before the dream ended, I saw the pot leave his hand and soar in my direction.
I woke up not knowing if I was still dreaming or not. Dazed, I had to remind myself that it was only a dream. That dream was extremely vivid. Moreso than the others because the school felt all too real. It was like I was there. The similarities between the dream school and the real building I saw were uncanny. Something made me want to investigate it further.
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I had Google Maps pulled up on my phone. I was looking at Santiago’s address while lying in bed. I knew the building should be around his house, maybe about five or six blocks away. Since the meetup spot was more east, I tapped and dragged the map to the right slowly.
It took only seconds until I found the long building. In this top-down view, I saw how it broke the pattern from the rest of the houses. I tapped it to see if I could get more info on it. Strangely, Google Maps did not have this building listed as anything. It just showed the address as if it were another house.
Then I went into street view mode to get a look at it from street level. “Oh god...” I thought to myself. It looked the exact same as the school I visited in my dreams. This can’t be a coincidence. I must see it for myself.
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UPDATE
It’s been a week and one day since I passed the building on my bike. It was Monday now. Curiosity got the better of me as I was interested in seeing the interior of the building.
The morning was breezy and chilly with cloudy skies. I couldn’t believe what I was doing. I was driving in my car to a school I saw in my dreams. It didn’t take too long to arrive since there was less traffic in the morning. It was almost 8 AM when I arrived at the parking lot of the school and there were a couple of other cars parked there. “Last time it was empty. There should be people inside” I thought.
At first, my plan was that I wasn’t going to enter. I was just going to look through the windows on the doors. Just to see what the inside looked like. This place seemed like a school for small children that I had no business entering.
I walked to the entrance with the glass doors. Honestly, I felt like a creep, but I really wanted to look inside, while hoping there wasn’t a cop around being suspicious of me.
I put my forehead on the glass of the door, with my hands covering the sides of my face to see better. As soon as I got close enough to the glass, I saw nothing but heard everything. With my eyes, I saw an empty hall. With my ears, I heard hundreds of voices.
“Wait... where are these noises coming from?” I thought as I kept looking around. These sounds were so audible that it sounded like people were on the other side of the door. Yet, I didn’t see anyone. Just a long hallway with the lights off. There were doors on the sides. All closed. There was even debris on the floor. The place looked ruined and abandoned. Yet, the sound of walking, shuffling, talking, and shouting were still audible.
It was all so spooky. I felt like my mind was playing tricks on me. Something inside me begged me to open the doors and walk around. Was that the right thing to do? This was all unnerving and mysterious and I felt like I had to go inside. At least to just walk a couple of feet.
Again, I looked around behind me to see if anyone was looking. While my head was turned toward the outside, I slowly opened the doors and entered when there was enough space to get in. As soon as I was in, I turned my head forward again and I did not expect to see what was in front of me.
Like magic, the once empty hall was now sprawling with people. Hundreds of them appeared seemingly out of thin air. The lights were on, the floor was clean, and people were going in and out of classrooms. I couldn’t tell what age they were. They all looked somewhere between middle and high school.
“What the fuck. Where am I?” I whispered. I looked down at my hands to make sure this wasn’t one of those dreams. I opened and closed my fists. I pinched myself and it hurt. Sure enough, it was real life.
I stood in that same spot for about a minute just watching everyone walk. When that minute was up, I realized there were less and less people out in the hallway. I saw the last few hurrying to where they needed to be as the last classroom door closed.
In just a few moments, I was alone in the hallway with the buzz of the fluorescent lights. The walls were half white at the bottom, and half red at the top. It looked so liminal like the hallways in my dreams. This wasn’t a dream, though.
I began walking down the hall. I passed by classrooms that had small square windows on the doors that I couldn’t see through.
It was almost silent now with no noise besides my footsteps. I checked my phone for the time. It was 8:15AM. I noticed I didn’t have signal at all. “What? ...why don’t I have service?” I thought to myself.
Once I got to the end of the hallway, I saw that it split into two other hallways. I looked deep into each hallway and they both looked the same. Not knowing where to go I thought, “Okay. That’s enough. Time to leave.”
I did a 180 degree turn to go back the way I came. I didn’t even take a third step when I heard a door open intensely and a harsh voice say “oh THERE he is. OUT in the HALLS and not in CLASS. HEY. YOUNG MAN. You better get in this classroom RIGHT NOW.”
I was startled by that voice. It broke the silence so abruptly that I jumped. It was a fat old lady with a wrinkled and scrunched face. She had curly gray hair and glasses.
I just stared at her for a moment. Then I tried to speak, “... I- I'm sorry, I’m uh... not-”
“YOU HAVEN’T SHOWED UP TO A SINGLE CLASS. Do you have ANY idea how much TROUBLE YOU’RE IN?” she boomed.
I sounded like a mouse compared to her. “L-look I... I think you uh... got the wrong per-”
“GET IN HERE.” she grew angrier. “GET IN THIS CLASSROOM RIGHT NOW.”
I stopped my little muttering and began to walk backwards. The lady then vigorously swung open the classroom door so hard it hit the wall as she speed-walked in my direction with such an aggravated look on her face.
Now, I’m not short, but I’m also not tall. I’m 5’8”. But compared to this lady, she made me look like a third grader. She was gigantic. Probably more than 7 feet tall.
I didn’t know what she was going to do. I walked backwards first and then tried turning around. Before I could make a complete turn, I felt a strong grip on my wrist and my motion stopped completely. I looked down at my wrist and saw a fat hand around it. I struggled hard to break free from the grasp, but I was swiftly pulled in the old lady’s direction.
No matter how much I struggled, I couldn’t break away. The old lady was dragging me toward the classroom.
“WHAT... THE HELL. HEY. ERGHHH LET GO OF ME!” I yelled.
“YOU DAMN TROUBLESOME KID. GO TO YOUR SEAT!” She pulled me up into the air, suspended by my shirt, and threw me into the classroom.
I hit the floor with a hard thud. My elbow and knees took the most impact as I was slow to get up. Pain hit my legs hard as I got back on my two feet and heard the door shut firmly.
The old lady that just got done manhandling me took a heavy sigh and said, “OKAY. Now we have a full class. That makes Miss Howler happy.” She took a seat at the big desk in the front. After sitting down, she looked over at me with an angry and confused expression.
“Why are you still standing there? Get to YOUR SEAT.”
I was frozen but my eyes darted around the room. I looked at the students. The class was indeed full. I looked at their faces and they were all grinning and looking straight.
My observation of the class was interrupted by the loud slam of Miss Howler’s fat fist on her desk.
“I SAID GO TO YOUR SEAT. RIGHT NOW!!!” she yelled.
I didn’t know what to do. Should I make a run for it? Or should I just sit like the teacher said and just get it over with? I didn’t want to risk being thrown again so I went to the back of the classroom where I saw an empty seat. I sat down and still couldn’t believe what was going on. This felt like a nightmare I couldn’t wake up from.
I looked around me. Everyone was still looking straight forward. Miss Howler was sitting at her desk again sorting some papers.
“How did I get myself into this mess? And how long will this all take?” I thought. Then, Miss Howler got up from her desk and walked over to the first student sitting in the front row. From where I was, I could see she was passing a packet of papers to each student.
“OKAY. Take one and pass it backwards, please. What you will all receive momentarily is our next assignment. Read through it carefully” she said.
The student sitting in front of me passed a packet over his shoulder for me to grab.
“Surely, I won’t be needing this” I thought while placing it on my desk. I read the words at the top.
ORGANIC CHEMISTRY 101 – ASSIGNMENT 8
The title was the only thing I understood. The rest of the page was just a bunch of science jargon. The questions were all based on equations with more letters than numbers.
“Like always, have this completed by the end of the week. Late work WILL NOT give you full credit... OHHH... SPEAKING of LATE WORK” Howler turned around and grabbed something beneath her desk. When she turned back around, she looked at me over the top of her glasses.
“YOU. Young man. Come here. Now.” Howler pointed at me and wriggled her finger, motioning for me to come up to the front of the class.
Nervously, I got up and walked past the many students that were still smiling and looking forward. I don’t think I ever saw them blink. When I got to Howler’s desk, she had a neat stack of papers probably about a foot high.
“Take your work and SIT down,” said Howler while glaring at me. Before anything else I grabbed the packet on the top of the stack. I looked at the top, ORGANIC CHEMISTRY LESSONS 1-127. I quickly turned around and walked back towards my seat before Howler slammed her fist again.
“WHERE ARE YOU GOING?”
I turned around slowly and nervously. “Wh- what?”
“WHY DID YOU ONLY TAKE THE ONE? YOU THINK THIS IS FUNNY?!?
“Umm... no. Look, I’m not supposed to be here” I said. “How DARE YOU. COME TAKE THE REST OF YOUR WORK,” she yelled. “I... okay,” I said as I walked back. I didn’t know that the whole stack was for me. As I reached for the stack, my vision went all white.
KABWOOSH
In an instant, white papers flew everywhere around me like a hurricane. Howler had bashed the stack with the back of her fat hand so hard that none of them were on the desk anymore. As the last page hit the floor she said, “You have SOME NERVE trying to joke around with ME. YOU’VE GOT SOME NERVE. Now PICK IT UP”.
I thought, “there’s no way I’m going to pick all of this up. This is ridiculous. I must leave. I can make a run for it from here”.
Before picking up a single page, I rushed to the door, pulled on the knob violently and turned it both ways. Sadly, it wouldn’t give. It was locked from the inside. Once I realized this, I felt something towering over me from behind. A shadow loomed over the door.
“Where do you think YOU’RE GOING? I cannot BELIEVE THIS. IN ALL MY YEARS YOU ARE THE WORST”.
I was still facing the door. Disappointed that I couldn’t leave. Suddenly, my neck tightened, and I felt like I was choking. I was pulled backwards. My shirt's collar fell tight as I realized I was being pulled by the back of my collar.
Then I was airborne and fell onto the bed of papers on the floor.
“I SAID PICK THEM UP. I WON’T ASK YOU AGAIN. DO IT NOW!!!!!!” Howler was the angriest she’d ever been so far.
I had no other choice but to pick them up and put them back in a stack. As I was placing them in a pile, I saw bright red dot appear on the white of a page. “Blood?” I thought. Then a few seconds later another drop. I placed my hand on my cheek, and it stung. My fingers were red from touching it. When Howler bashed the paper stack, I must have gotten a paper cut.
Once I was done stacking, I lifted it up and went to my seat. Then Howler began teaching. I can’t remember a single word she said while teaching. It was all chemistry, and I didn’t know a thing about it. All I knew was that I had to get out of there. I needed a reason.
But then she said, “Alright. Any questions?”
I shot my hand up before any of the five other students could. As soon as I did, Howler looked at me and said, “Yes, YOU.”
“Uh... may I use the bathroo-”
“NO. PAY ATTENTION.”
“Please. I just need some paper for this cut on my face.”
She glared at me so hard. I was starting to regret even asking. It felt like I made a huge mistake for even raising my hand at all.
To my surprise she said, “FINE. But don’t think for a SECOND that I’m just going to let you WALK OUT OF HERE by yourself. I’m NOT stupid.”
She looked at the student right in front of her. “James. Please escort your fellow student to the restroom.”
I immediately got up and walked towards the front. James stood up and turned to me. He had short blond hair, green eyes, and was still smiling even when looking at me. “Yes ma’am.” He said in a proud voice. James walked in front of me.
Before we got to the door, I froze as we heard, “LISTEN. You BETTER be back here in TWO MINUTES. BOTH OF YOU. DO NOT waste my time. GO.”
With that, James turned the doorknob. Surprisingly, it opened. How did it open so easily for him?
James and I exited the classroom. Just being out of it felt like freedom. My cut was still dripping blood. I then spoke, “Hey James. What is this place? What’s going on?”
“This is our school. Where have you been this whole time?” He replied. He would not stop smiling.
“What do you mean?” I said, “I’ve never been inside this school before.”
He said, “Yes you have.”
When we got to the bathroom, I quickly got some paper towels and placed them on my cheek. James then said, “Okay. Let’s go back now” as he turned around and headed for the door.
My stomach ached at the thought of going back into that classroom. I was already through with being there. “Hey James, you go on ahead I’ll be in the classroom soon,” I said while opening a stall door.
James stopped before opening the door. “I don’t think we should keep Miss Howler waiting any longer,”
I entered the stall and said, “I really, really, have to use the toilet pretty badly. It’s going to take a while. Please, go ahead and return. I’ll take the blame, James”. With that, I closed the stall door and locked it.
I waited for a response. There was no sound coming from the outside of the stall. James had gone quiet. I was looking down in the opening of the stall under the door. These two neat shoes appeared. I was starting to get creeped out. “Umm... James?” I spoke.
Then, suddenly, blond hair was appearing under the stall door slowly. The neat shoes were still there and hadn’t moved. I kept my eyes on the blond hair as it moved down ever so slightly. I saw a forehead, then eyebrows, then green eyes.
“What the fuck...” I whispered.
It was James’ head. It was upside down. His head kept lowering slowly as his nose was now visible. Then his mouth was coming into full view. He was grinning cheek to cheek like always. I was about to scream my lungs out.
Then he said, “It’s time to go back”.
I will end it here for now. There’s so much more to this occurrence than I can write in one post. I will continue in the next one.