#edit but last week i tried to schedule and give myself work periods and break periods using my class schedule | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

ahgapride98 · 5 years

Text

REFLECTION ABOUT GOT7’S COMEBACK

Hello baby birds! I know it has been a long time since I last posted and I’m so sorry about it, I’ve been extremely busy with college and life in general and couldn’t find time to post anything here. But… good news: I’m finally free and I plan on finishing my ‘Memory Lane’ series, but first I need to address some things regarding this comeback that I’m not so happy about.

1. GOT7’s ‘Eclipse’ MV views in the first 24h. It’s no secret that we only got 6’5M views for Eclipse in the first 24h after its release (less than the views for ‘Miracle’ and ‘Focus On Me’ – JUS2 subunit). Now, I don’t really know who we should blame for this: YouTube or ourselves? While streaming the MV I noticed that the views were frozen for approximately 1h whole hour, and the worst part of all is that we never got those views back. I was so mad at YouTube for doing us dirty when we were putting all of our best efforts there for the boys (we had a great start, 500.000 views in just 1h after the release); But another thing I also noticed was that our streaming party didn’t really work, it was like ahgases were not working together to reach our 15M goal. It almost felt like we weren’t there, and that makes me sad because we almost got the same result as we did with ‘Look’ (6M views). I really had big hopes of breaking Lullaby’s record (10M in the first 24h), but it seems like we are going backwards instead of forward. This made me feel like the fandom decreased instead of growing - something that is not true because our fandom got bigger after the world tour. Now, like I said before, I don’t know if we should blame YouTube for this or ourselves. I honestly think it’s a combination of both, YouTube really did us dirty but we should have tried harder for our boys. (Funny thing: our views in the first 24h were really low but we managed to reach 30M views in just 5 days, beating our own record…).

2. Melon issue. This is something I talked about in my ‘Lullaby Comeback Reflection’ post, and I still think the same thing. I don’t know why Melon hates us, but they do. On the first day (20/05), we debuted at number 52, and just went downhill from there reaching the 71st place. Then, on the second day (21/05), it seemed like we went up for a bit and managed to reach the 45th position, then we dropped to 55 and from there we charted 100 and eventually disappeared from the chart. On the third day (22/05), we appeared again at number 90 only to drop to the 91st place, and then go up to 75. Finally, on the fourth day (23/05), we charted the 82nd place and after that we disappeared from the chart. As you can see our results are not good enough, ‘Eclipse’ charted really low compared to other songs. On top of that, we only charted for four days before completely disappearing from the Melon chart. I’m positive this is Melon’s doing, they did us dirty in our last comeback too and I wouldn’t be surprised if they are supressing our listeners and sabotaging our streaming party. I’m so sorry for the boys because they worked really hard for this, but their efforts are still not recognised in Korean charts (specially Melon).

3. Timing. This is a really important point. We have to be honest and admit that GOT7’s comeback came in the worst time ever. First of all, it was scheduled shortly after Bambam’s ‘Black Feather Tour’ in Thailand, Jackson’s birthday fan meeting in China and JUS2 debut and tour. Many ahgases spent a lot of money buying the new subunit albums and tickets for all the shows. Also, we have the world tour just around the corner, so it makes sense that many ahgases prefer saving their money to buy tickets for the tour instead of buying the new albums. On top of that, we can’t forget that the majority of the fandom are teenagers and young adults that have final exams around this time of the year (myself included, the day of the comeback I had my first final exam in college). This obviously made the fandom focus on other things that were by far more important to us than the comeback (sad but true).

4. Sales – Album stock. This is closely related to the last point. Because of the timing the comeback was scheduled, our sales weren’t good either. On the first day, we sold 62,002 copies (our best result ever), but throughout the week we only managed to sell 214.125 copies (not good enough to win on music shows). Now, this has to do with the lack of stock: for some reason there weren’t enough albums and a lot of ahgases had to wait until Wednesday to be able to purchase them (that’s a whole day lost there, thanks for nothing JYP…). I don’t understand why this happened, especially if we take into account that GOT7 is the best album-seller under JYP Entertainment (‘Eyes On You’ sold 223.844 copies in the first week, the best-selling album under the company). They should have been more prepared and have stock ready knowing that even though GOT7 are not digital monsters, the rock with album sales.

5. Music shows. We don’t have to be geniuses to know that with our bad charting and lower sales, we have very few options of winning with ‘Eclipse’, even if we do well with MV views. In music programs, they give more importance to digital sales than physical album sales, and since we are not even charting anymore (in most charts), I am going to be honest here and say that I don’t think we are going to win anything (‘You Are’ 2.0). My thoughts are based -specially- after today’s Show Champion: we were nominated but didn’t win. Usually the time to bring trophies home is during the first week after the comeback was released (or the second week of promotions), after the first week winning is really hard. But based on our horrible start and everything that happened last week, I don’t think we are going to get any trophy with this comeback (just my opinion, I could still be wrong).

EDIT: I WAS WRONG, WE WON ON MCOUNTDOWN (30/05), MUSIC BANK (31/05) AND INKIGAYO (02/06)!!!!! 💚💚

6. JYP Division 2 - Promotions. This is something that has to do with this comeback, but also something that I have been accumulating for months now. The way Division 2 handles and promotes GOT7 is pure shit, it’s like they are not even focusing on them. First, they barely put them on variety shows, and the only one they went to -Idol Room- was lacking promotion music wise; and the promotion period is just two weeks (meaning that this upcoming week is the last one we will be seeing them on music shows). They spent the first 30 minutes of the program talking and messing around with Doni and Coni, and then introduced ‘Eclipse’. For a non GOT7 fan, an outsider, this could get boring pretty fast. Secondly, the album stock situation: because of that mistake we lost sales, sales that were crucial for music shows. Thirdly, the time they decided to release the comeback was extremely bad calculated, they should have known this could happen. Also, their decision of debuting a new subunit and sending Bambam on tour was something benefitial at the moment but with not so good long term consequences, as everything now seems rushed and poorly done. I understand that it’s really hard to schedule comebacks, specially if we take into account the company as a whole: Itzy’s debut - JUS2 debut / Jinyoung drama - StrayKids comeback - Twice comeback - Itzy comeback - GOT7 world tour - Twice world tour - StrayKids world tour... but even though everything is packed, I still think that things could have been done differently. There’s something wrong with the management team in Division 2 that is affecting GOT7 negatively, and that also makes me fear for Itzy (as both groups are under this division).

7. JYP strict rules towards fans – Fansigns problems. This point has to do with issues that happened weeks prior to the comeback, but that is clearly affecting the promotions. In case you didn’t know, ‘fans’ followed GOT7 members everywhere (yes, even to their homes), the situation got so out of control that even the boys had to post in their personal Instagram accounts the official statement released by JYP Entertainment, and because of that JYP reinforced the rules that ahgases must follow when they are with the boys. But this rules have gone as far as to not even allowing the fans to touch or high five the members in fansigns (now, let’s remember that the fans that go to the fansigns have spent a ridiculously huge amount of money on albums just to get the chance of going), and not letting the members write the names of the fans in the albums (they just basically sign the album and that’s it). And not only that, recently ahgases that went to one of the fansigns last week took to Twitter to express their discontent with how they were treated by the staff. I’ll leave some of the messages that ahgases posted on Twitter:

I do agree that we must protect the boys, and I think those rules are great to be followed outside. But on a closed space with security to watch over everything that’s going on in the event, not allowing fans to even get a high five with the members is going a bit too far. Also, the staffs’ attitude needs to be checked: they are there working, not having fun with their friends. They should know their position in the fansigns, and not disturb the conversations going on between fans and the members of GOT7. I really hope JYP Entertainment thinks things over, because if not the consequences could be catastrophic. Take as an example the upcoming tour, no info about VIP tickets has been released yet. In fact, for the America leg of the tour there are no VIP tickets. That makes me wonder how things are going to be done in the tour.

8. Album and comeback thoughts (focused on just the boys and music). After so many negative comments, the only good thing about all of this is seeing the boys together and doing what they love. I can’t express with words how happy I am to see them together again after so much time. Also, the whole album is a bop. It’s the bop of the year (fight me on that): all the songs are amazing, the vocals, the raps, the lyrics, the music, the style, the concep... just everything is out of this world. I’m so glad that they get to perform on stage and carry out the message this album has. I couldn’t relate more with the meaning of this album, and I know we all ahgases feel the same way. Even though a lot of negative things have happened in the past few weeks, I’m still happy to see they are back and better than ever. As their fans, the only thing we can do is support them no matter what and be there for them just like they are here for us when we need them the most. Also, I can’t wait for the tour to start and I can’t wait to see them again this year. I’m so excited that just listening to the songs of the last tour makes me feel tingly on the inside!

Well baby birds, that’s it for today’s post. I’ll update my ‘Memory Lane’ series as soon as possible as some of you have been asking for the remaining members. I love you all!!! 💚🐥💚

125 notes · View notes

prorevenge · 5 years

Text

Contract Negotiations in a Second Language

This one's a bit bit, sorry for the length, I've tried to cut it down... hard to do without losing some twists and turns in the story. Hope you think it's worth it, I sure do!

TLDR @ the End.

I work in China as an English teacher. There are hundreds of great jobs out here, but at least an equal portion of people trying to screw you in every way possible. Each company I've worked with has been an education in paperwork, contract negotiations, and leverage. 6 years in, I'd like to think I'm finally getting the hang of it. 6 years working here isn't unheard of, but it's rare, and my level of education/job experience (plus standard white face) sells for quite a premium here.

At this private school I'm one of 3 foreign teachers, a job that carries a lot of prestige locally, and brings in a lot of students (read $$$), as only certain schools are even permitted to hire foreigners and even less can afford/find them. During recruitment periods, parents are paraded into my classroom, and I'm sometimes given bonuses because of how often I'm complimented on my energy, teaching style, even handsomeness (this matters in China... I'm NOT handsome, but white in rural China is auto-handsome). The other foreign teachers here are African--and yes, there's a substantial racial bias, and they get paid much less. I've chosen this school, because it's got the lowest cost of living area with the highest offered salary---but most importantly the highest amount of free time. I work about 20 hours per week, save 70% of my salary, and spend the rest traveling. I had negotiated a VERY competitive salary. I also signed a non-standard contract that I had personally edited. I was proud of myself... at least until....

I arrived at the school and the international staff liaison immediately asked me to sign their 'standard contract'--the earlier one was a mistake, and couldn't be submitted for my visa. I now knew this was one of "those schools" I'd heard stories... they would do anything to screw over the 老外 (foreigner). I pulled up my big-boy britches. ... I needed to be prepared. ... I wasn't...

Initially, I didn't even read the "standard contract," it offered me only 2/3's of my agreed upon salary, so I told them to update that. They returned (days later) and I read it--a horrific document that would lose me: my Christmas holiday (a great luxury in China), my salaried status (a shift to per/class pay with no pay for canceled classes), and even allow them to charge me if I leave without finishing my contract. More terrifying still? "additional 'activities' or 'events' could be assigned without pay or notice" apparently at any time. The contract would also require me to locate another foreign teacher 'replacement' before allowing me to sever employment, and prevented me from leaving this school for any competing school in China.

"Everyone signs it!" was chanted at me by four separate workers (all of the English speakers in the building), each appalled that I was arguing. I informed them "I'm not everyone. We'll stick to my contract."

(I found out later, everyone apparently does sign it. They just don't bother following it. The other foreign teachers just run away on payday. The school has lost more than 10 teachers this way.)

Four individual attempts were made to rewrite the "standard" contract to include what I had negotiated for. Each new version left out new things... (I hate to ignore Hanlon's Razor: "Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity." , but we were approaching the edge of Occam's Razor here... "The simplest explanation is usually true.") God, I prayed they were only stupid! By the end, I simply wrote the contract using their format.

Except by then we were 6 months into the school year. Operating that long without an official contract in China is dangerous, and can allow the government to seize my 'illegal wages.' But there were just 3 more months until summer vacation... except...

that's when the school decided that they didn't want to pay my summer salary. Now my paperwork clearly said that I was a salaried employee, and that I was to be paid whether they had classes or not. Summer had no classes, I pointed out, but I still get paid. ... I hadn't anticipated them creating a summer school just to give me classes. But, the dates for 'summer holiday' wasn't specified, so I lost three weeks of my vacation to their "summer classes." At the meeting where I debated the ambiguities in the contract, seeking some discussion, a meeting of the minds, the boss lady simply demanded, "Will you comply with the contract you signed or not?" [This remains the most English and the only grammatical English she's ever spoken within my hearing.]

Would I do what I signed up for? Fuck. ... I would.

...but contract negotiations were already starting... for the school year (by now) beginning in only two months. I hadn't been prepared before, but I was determined to get my 3 weeks back.

The initial plan was to set my demands so high that eventually insisting on getting 3 weeks vacation or 3 weeks extra pay would seem reasonable. I rejected the three contracts they offered me (each one a version I had already seen and refused the year before), the foreign staff liaison (FL) suggested that I again write the contract myself, so I would be happy with it. I sighed, and uttered , "好吧," (a reluctant "Fine.") Don't mind if I do!

I had three contract versions sent to them by the end of the day. (They were just modified versions of my last 3 employers)-- but they were written in amateur and heavy English legalese. Poor ESL (English Second Language) workers never had a chance. They balked.

Now, my email clearly explained that each contract offered different benefits, each a separate option I'd accept: One gave me less classes/week, one provided substantial penalty fees for each week my salary was delayed, one insisted that my "holiday" salary for the year (3 months) be paid immediately. Additional benefits tossed in at random: sick days, penalties for not giving notice of canceled classes/holidays, (as opposed to the less than 24 hours notice I'd heretofore received). I even added my water/electric bill, cafeteria meal card, and internet to the list.

Overwhelmed by the complexity of the documents... FL asked for the 3 to be combined into a single document. I did, again reminding them that they contained several options, and this time adding that it was really an initial negotiating position. I'm quite certain that reminder was never read. Well, I combined the documents... every potentially reasonable request I had managed to concoct over 2 months was thrown together into the final draft.

I imagine FL having a quiet heart attack upon reading it, knowing sending it to the boss was akin to a suicide attempt. That's when they stopped paying me.

I had now agreed to working one summer month [okay, 3 weeks] "free" (as it should have been a holiday), and now I had worked another month, but payday arrived without them paying my salary... my legal options were pretty unknown to me, it's not my legal system, and I can barely parse a Chinese sentence, much less read legalese... I continued to work, and occasionally remind them about needing paid... as I neared two months behind in salary... we began "negotiations."

These contract negotiations were more stressful than any breakup I've ever had: First, I would be called into the office, berated at for being ungrateful (usually) for hours, have it explained that I was being unreasonable, told precisely how much each of the workers in the office made (fractions of my salary), and then asked to make some concessions, ... I told them they'd receive concessions only if they made some proportionate concessions on their end. (This is China. None of the people I was talking to were authorized to make any concessions, they were just aware the boss lady/owner (HRH-- Her Royal Highness) was NOT HAPPY with my requests [or perhaps would be not happy?--I still don't know if/when she read the contract]) But there was nothing they could do... I started playing games on my laptop while waiting for them to run out of stamina. I wracked up 120+ hours on the game. Wake up. Go to class. Go to meetings. Get yelled at. Lunch break, go home, nap, return in the afternoon for a repeat performance. Had this for an entire two weeks with little variation... well sometimes the meetings were before class, sometimes the meetings were after. Variety is the spice of life! I began to look forward to classes, as they were a reason to escape "meetings."

Finally, someone must have decided I wasn't going to budge, and the contract was sent to the boss for approval. My demands had been shuffled, reworded, and buried in paragraphs--but the content was largely unchanged.

HRH immediately made a (6+ hour) trip to the school from Beijing for our meeting. Upon her arrival HRH stood for a photo session with me, I was given chocolates, wine, the (ceremonial) position of vice principal, and the promise of a raise. (I hadn't even considered a raise! I made way too much for the region as it was! But it'd been promised, so I added it into my next draft.) The meetings lasted 3 days on and off. (Although my time with her was less than 3 hours total, because we were constantly interrupted by investors, new students, parents, etc.)

On the third day, I left the meeting (for lunch) with the regretful promise that I would begin looking for work elsewhere. I already had four interviews scheduled for the afternoon.

No sorry, I couldn't possibly return to the meetings, I've already scheduled an interviews until 4. Yes, I know, it's important, but I've already scheduled the meeting. ... Okay... okay... No. I have a meeting. .... Yes. I understand. ... No, I still have a meeting... I'll come over immediately after. ... Oh, HRH wants to talk? ... Sorry, still have an interview. ... No, I won't cancel... Yes, HRH is very very busy... well, it's very kind of you to (finally) give me that promised raise, but I have promised to have these meetings, and I keep my promises. Buh-bye.

[Between interviews] I'm sorry. I have an interview now, and can't answer your direct messages, but yes, some sick days is reasonable... I've g2g... That'd be nice... The Wechat [Chinese skype/facebook] call is starting. Buh-bye.

I arrived to a very different meeting. My boss was sitting in a room of 6 police officers with a pile of money on the table bigger than a large suitcase. I was certain she was paying them to arrest me. 'Oh fuck,' I thought. 'HRH is real fucking hardcore. What the fuck was I doing?'

I was told that I wasn't allowed to leave the school, that my contract only allowed me to work for her. I agreed that might be the case, (suddenly, I was in a very agreeable mood) and asked if I could read that part in the contract I'd signed. She picked up the contract and began scanning. The contract said no such thing, but her face never changed as she scanned the substantially altered "standard" contract. Everyone in the room pretended we weren't paying attention to her.

She finished scanning. There was a glance at the FL.

"Yes, you will only work for me." She asked me what the other schools were offering, salary-wise. I told her. She rounded up the number and tossed two wads of cash to me, and turned to continue her conversation with the police. "Bring his contract. We're signing it now." A worker snatched the money from my hands and counted out my (very late) salary.

The poor staff. They were still unprepared. (They brought the combined version of the contract that I'd emailed... my first 'final draft'.) HRH didn't even glance at it before signing. I got everything I could have thought to ask for. I celebrated for two weeks--in Thailand.

Epilogue: FL has an easier job (same pay) in a different school now. We're still not friends, but she told me she's grateful to not work here anymore. She won't say it's my fault, (that's not Chinese culture), but I'm 99.99% sure it is. I've bought her gifts, (2) until she stopped accepting them.

This year I promised no new demands in my contract... I just wanted my salary... ... but there were still some changes...

First, since I've accumulated an additional 80% of my yearly salary in fines, (they failed to pay my three months holiday salary up front). I've had my contract reviewed by a Chinese lawyer. It may be not eloquent, (online translated) Chinese, but it would hold up in court. To be honest though, I still feel bad about them signing that insane contract, so I'm holding to the stated intention in the penalties... This year, as an addendum I added: "As the penalty is meant to be corrective, rather than punitive, so long as my wages, and the wages of my fellow employees, are paid on time, the missing fines from last year will not be assessed. All fines will become due, including all subsequent late fees, if any teacher can demonstrate that they have not been paid by the 15th." I calculate that weekly fines will have pushed my punitive figures to 200%+ of my yearly salary by that time. They asked for one change-- I was the only staff member with Christmas off, and it was breeding resentment. Instead of Christmas and Christmas Eve, could I accept instead holiday days in lieu? I wrote the addendum myself. I wrote "Upon request of Party A, instead of the Christmas holiday, Party B will receive an additional 12 paid holiday days." 12.

The addendum was returned signed. I can only assume HRH is still not reading my contracts before signing.

I'm now up to 4 months paid holidays, and yesterday I sent the excel spreadsheet with the complete calculations of all fines from last year. There was a panic, until I restated the reminder that the fines will not be assessed so long as I can't validate any complaints about myself or my friends/co-workers not being paid on time. I was assured (again) it wouldn't ever happen.

TLDR: Boss in China screws me out of three weeks vacation, creating special "summer school classes" just to make me work, only possible because of a bad contract translation/ambiguity. So, I rewrite my contract next year- give myself a raise, three weeks of paid vacation, free meals, and nearly extortionate fees for late payments. I could demand 80% of my salary extra this year in penalties alone. Instead, I wrote myself in an additional two weeks of paid vacation. Going to see how long I can keep this up.

(source) story by (/u/StillAdamRoots)

#prorevenge #by /u/StillAdamRoots #pro revenge #revenge stories #pro revenge stories #pro #revenge #last10

180 notes · View notes

someplace-that-is-else · 4 years

Text

Diamonds in the Rough: Life as an Indie Author in Coronavirus U.S.

Zombie apocalypse.

That was my name for the Coronavirus pandemic.

It was not too far off. People were running around hoarding up on towel paper. People were let go from jobs. People were stuck at home. People wouldn’t wear masks even if it meant that they were saving people by doing it, foaming at the mouth in some cases. People thought this whole thing was a hoax. Wait…WHAT?!?

Meanwhile…I went to work. Well, one of my jobs. It was nice to be an essential worker. Otherwise, honestly I might be out on the street. So for that I was grateful.

The zombie apocalypse also had another unexpected side-effect. A lot of free time. One of two things could happen. All that free time could be a case for someone to get introspective. Or…it could be a case for a person to finish/work on something.

I experienced both.

Works and Finishes: How You can Tell You Like Your Writing Group

I was so proud of our group.

I had been a member of a writing group. Calling our group The Authors’ Table (https://www.facebook.com/groups/2502021803151042/), we were a group of indie authors who wanted to have a message board where we tried to be different from other writing groups. How? By interacting with our readers and fans by just showing off our personalities. While we did mention what we were working on and sales, for the most part, our page was a no sale zone. Teasers, samples, and the like. In fact, the only time we had sales was when we had events. Then there were games, prizes, freebies from gift cards to books to even a Kindle tablet.

During the zombie apocalypse, I noticed something.

Everybody was finishing something. Glacia Cronk just finished a new book in her Clockmaker series. Carlie Yates had a new book coming out and a sale on her previous books. Ashley Greathouse was super excited about her latest horror novel LILY. And James? James Fuller is always out and about talking about his books. A pirate series here. A thriller over there. Getting new covers for his first fantasy series over here. Busy, busy, busy.

And to paraphrase Carrie Bradshaw, I couldn’t help but wonder…what was I doing?

The pandemic had shut down my plans for DARKENED SOUL: THE BREAKING OF CIRCLES. The library still had not opened back up. They were not even taking back drop off books or cds. So there was no chance of me finishing my research over all the time periods that my short story collection involved. At least for now.

So what was a boy to do? Well a boy decided to focus on one of his other books. And while part of me wanted to start on my forthcoming CROSSOVER series, I figured since I had a LOT of free time now, I could continue to work on DARKENED TABULA, the latest in my THE DARKENED series. While it was finished for the most part. It needed a loooooooooong editing/formatting process. My policy was to do three sweeps before I seriously thought about publishing it.

Well…I did have time.

Meanwhile, memberships had grown over at the Authors’ Table. So much so, we decided to do another one of our events. You know…games, prizes, free books!!! Did I say free books? Haha!! Since I had been sending out a lot of invites while I was keeping my Facebook pages active, of course I was going to add in some free signed copies of one of my books.

I also did something else as well.

I started to post free sample chapters from DARKENED TABULA.

Are You or Aren’t You: The Pandemic and Perspective

It started when I was going through my editing/formatting process. I was ahead enough in my process that they were final drafts of my chapters. I figured that I should give my likers a taste of my forthcoming novel.

Boy was I nervous! The last book I released was DARKCHILDE. And that was back in 2016. I worried. Would anyone want to read chapters? Was it the right thing to do? How many chapters would I do? Should I do that? Would it take away from releasing DARKENED TABULA?

On the other hand, I was a writer. It had always been said that a writer should always be sure that new materials was consistently brought out. Let the readers have their supply to devour. Never let them go too long without.

I was also an indie author. I’ve been doing it since 2013 seriously. The emphasis on seriously. And that was hard work. There was the writing. There was the networking. The promoting. And if there was anyone who understood that and knew what the concept of hard work (2 jobs mostly) encompassed, it would be me.

Several of my friends had always had this saying. You are either working to live, or you are living to work? People who work to live were people who knew work was a means to an end, but knew also life was too short to not go after what you really wanted out of life. They never lost their focus. People who lived to work were people who did just that. They wouldn’t know what to do if they were not at work.

I wished I could say that I was the former. But most of my friends would say that I was the latter. Even when I was on vacation…true vacation…it would usually take me a day and a half to relax. I worked hard over the last year to get rid of that feeling. New eyes. New perspective coming into 2020. And then this pandemic happened. This zombie apocalypse. All this free time. With the Authors’ Table event around the corner, I made a choice. I made it this far because no matter what was going on in life, I knew what was important to me.

One thing the pandemic did for me was to remind me of that. When it hit, I found out that my sister and brother were both essential workers as well. So I immediately grouped us into a group text. While things had been a little less stressful since I did that, we were in regular contact in a way that we had not been since we were all young to be honest.

There were a lot of times I’ve laid in bed. My job was over for the day. And I just sat there. Depressed. Worries, fears, and regrets consumed me. It let up some when I returned back to my second job but, I found that I could not stay in this constant state of worry. Before this zombie apocalypse, I had started on a path of self-discovery for myself. I wanted better. I needed better. I deserved better. And no matter how bad it was out here in the United States, there was only one way to do it. And that was through hard work. But…not so much that I allowed it to consume me. There had to be a balance between working to live, but I had to…LIVE. Do what made me happy.

And what made me happy was writing.

I had an idea something was up when I pulled out my old list of potential agents. That grew as I was going over the formatting for DARKENED TABULA and I made sure to keep my old submission packages handy. Granted I had some drama with my residence like most people due to the pandemic, but I decided it was a way to have a fresh start. And with that in mind, I placed all of these items somewhere where I could easily retrieve them.

And…I started to work on them. All of a sudden, I was creating deadlines again. That formatting had to be done by here. This had to be a pdf there. I started writing short stories again. They were for the Book page (www.facebook.com/darkenverse). They dove deeper into things in my ‘Darkenverse.’ After doing nothing for a few years, here I was writing and planning when I would post them. And then there was the hunt for a cover. Rather than see my fellow authors working on things, I had joined them, my free time giving me a different perspective.

No.

Purpose. Direction.

And just like that, I was back in the game.

So You Got That Groove Back?

I could not believe it.

I had posted the sample chapters for DARKENED TABULA, and they were doing good. Better than I expected by the read count. My short story INTO THE WILDS (https://www.facebook.com/notes/darkened-soul/into-the-wilds-a-tale-of-the-forryn/3427837373902981/) was also doing well on the Book page. And it had all led beautifully into the Authors’ Table event…a Member Appreciation Event. It was perfect timing to a surprise of my own: I had the OFFICIAL cover to DARKENED TABULA. And it would be released July 31. Yes, it was a week after the event. But I had drummed up good buzz.

My patience had paid off. I set deadlines. I was flexible as I could be. But…I met the deadlines. I worked hard on that formatting. And researching covers. And creating buzz through INTO THE WILDS and my sample chapters. And now I would be entering a new arena: active promoting of a new book!!! To think that months ago, I had nothing ready. All I was worried about was surviving in a zombie apocalypse. Now I was planning out my schedule for the foreseeable future which would include more editing of submission packages, a new Darkenverse short story timed with another surprise I was working on, and at least TWO novellas. That did not even include CROSSOVER which I was still itching to get back to. Not to mention DARKENED SOUL: THE BREAKING OF CIRCLES.

While I did not at the moment feel I would be releasing anything else this year, life was full of surprise. And if the pandemic had done anything for me, it reminded me what was important to me and who I was. And I should be going after it, following the path that I started at the start of the year.

I am an author. And whether I was a rich one or just a modest one as long as I was doing what I wanted to do and it made me happy, it did not matter. And...I was happy when I was writing.

So...let’s see how far this path went.

DARKENED TABULA

US: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08DMP47MK/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i1

UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B08DMP47MK/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_hsch_vapi_taft_p1_i3

#diamondintherough #rough #diamond #indieauthor #coronavirus #us #theauthorstable #writinggroups #zombieapocalypse #essential #glaciacronk #carlieyates #ashleygreathouse #jamesfuller #lily #carriebradshaw #satc #pandemic #worthit #balance #followthepath #path #happiness

0 notes

kingfallstranscripts-blog · 7 years

Text

Episode 17: Give Peas a Chance

Ben: I’m just saying, it’s a new year! Maybe we shouldn’t be talking about the same old subjects. Let’s take out a new lease on life…turn over a new leaf.

Doyle: And I’m just saying, Ben, that if there is a portal leading into my bathroom, and there is, then maybe more people should be aware, man.

Ben: I can’t…I can’t handle this. This is you, Sammy.

Ben: Not Ben! I mean, I am done! Nothing is happening in your house, Doyle!

Doyle: To be so open minded, you sure don’t want to expand your horizons and work with me here, Ben-Tin-Tin.

Ben: I usually only talk to people about real subjects, Doyle.

Doyle: Oh, it’s real. Real as can be. You’re just being a naysayer.

Ben: I’m not a naysayer.

Doyle: Oh-ho-ho, you’re naysaying for sure, bro.

Ben: I’m not a – Sammy, I can’t.

Sammy: Doyle, let’s get back to this portal or we’ll need to part ways for the evening.

Ben: Or forever.

Doyle: Alright, I feel you. So, I got this portal in my house, right. Craziest damn thing you ever saw.

Ben: And sometimes…late at night…

Doyle: You get it, boss man. So sometimes late at night, I wake up and gotta take a leaky-deaky, and it’s just sitting there in the bathroom door just a shimmerin and shiny. Looks like Willy Wonka just left a big fat golden ticket hangin in my door way.

Sammy: Uh-huh…

Doyle: Well. I only got one water closet, boys, and nature is a-callin. So, I pass through it and it’s all like SHHHEEERRROWOWOW –

Sammy: And *heavy sighs* Doyle, where does this portal transport you?

Doyle: That’s the thing… it takes me to my bathroom.

Ben: THIS IS WHAT I’M TALKING ABOUT.

Doyle: But it’s not my bathroom… it just looks like my bathroom.

Ben: Because IT’S YOUR BATHROOM.

Doyle: Na-hooo, things have changed, bros…

Sammy: What’s changed?

Ben: You mean, other than listeners changing the station, Sammy?

Doyle: I can feel your negativity, Ben, and it’s comin in way hot. Like a bagel-bite fresh out of hell’s toaster. You’re harshin me, Ben.

Sammy: What is different after stepping through, Doyle?

Doyle: It’s like I’m in an alternate universe, Shot-Gun. I do my biz and I go to wash my hands, right? And AHYAYAYAYEBAWB0W- HOT IS COLD, COLD IS HOT. It’s done freaky Friday switcharooed me.

Ben: Jesus… BYE, DOYLE.

Doyle: Everything is reversed until I step back through the portal, boys.

Sammy: Okay, you know, thanks for calling and sharing, but –

Doyle: Oh-ho-ho. You don’t believe me…

Ben: NO! I don’t believe you! I think you’re stoned and sleep walking.

Doyle: Yeah? And I think you’re naysaying. Ain’t ever gonna bag Emily Potter like that, bro.

Sammy: Have a nice night.

Doyle: Totes. *hangs up*

Ben: Bag Emily? *scoffs* What’s that even mean?

Sammy: Okay, moving forward…

Ben: Right! Moving forward! Uh, we got some good stuff coming at the 5 o’clock hour. Jeanie Sherman from the King Falls Doggy Daycare will be chiming in on how to get your pets out of their post-holiday funk.

Sammy: That’s a thing?

Ben: That is a thing… I guess.

Sammy: Alright. Depressed dogs at 5am! We’re with ya. What do we have on tab now?

Ben: Uh, well – I mean…I kind of scheduled us a free period. I wasn’t sure if we’d blow through the Christmas Break news and… we did.

Sammy: Well we can only talk about Ms. Baker failing to make the world’s largest ginger bread house so much…

Ben: I agree, but it’s not particularly her fault. Apparently, the Williams Boys went in and ate a lot of load baring beams, so it was bound to come down.

Sammy: *laughs* Okay, give us a call, Kings Falls. Tell us how your holiday went and how you’re gonna kick ass on that New Year’s resolution.

Ben: We’re open to just about anything, folks! 424-279-3858 or give a tweet on the ol’ twitter machine.

Sammy: Looks like we got a taker already. Line 7, welcome to Kings Falls AM with Sammy and Ben.

Troy: Hey, fellas.

Ben: WE’RE BUSY, Troy.

Troy: You know dang well I’m listening right now and you two are just dilly-dallying until Ms. Sherman.

Sammy: How’re doing this evening, Troy? Keeping the mean streets of King Falls safe this evening?

Troy: Actually, it’s an off night. I was hoping I could come swing by the station and give Ben a little somthin…

Ben: Still this? Just leave it at the door and go!

Sammy: Ben!

Ben: Sorry, say hi to Sammy…and leave it at the door and go.

Sammy: Troy, we would love to have you in the studio to hang out. How far out are you?

Troy: Couple minutes away, Sammy!

Ben: You were already driving up here?

Troy: Well, yeah…just in case. *weird squeaking animal noise in the background*

Ben: What’s that noise?

Troy: I don’t hear nary a thing, Ben. See ya soon, buddy. *hangs up*

Ben: In studio, Sammy?

Sammy: He’s bring you a present.

Ben: Like the present Storm tried to bring us?

Sammy: Let’s hope not…

Ben: Let’s just… go back to the phones before he gets here.

Sammy: Power through, buddy. Line 7 again, you are live in King Falls AM.

*knocking on door*

Ben: Jesus! Already?!

Sammy: I’m gonna grab the door, you grab the call.

Ben: I’m gonna make an executive decision and just move the break to here. Be back in a minute!

(Commercial starts with political-type music)

Narrator: In two weeks come join King Falls AM at the Main Street Park for a special presentation.

Grisham: Hi, I’m Mayor Steven Grisham, and it’s that joyous time once again, folks. Come join myself, the King Falls Chamber of Commerce, and all our wonderful residents in commemorating a very special day in King Falls history.

Narrator: You are cordially invited to join us in celebrating our wonderful town being voted The Best Small Town in America by the King Falls Chamber of Commerce for the 7th straight year.

Grisham: Come on down Friday, January 15 and help us kick off another amazing year in our lovely town. There will be live music, fun and games for the kids, that weird food truck, and a special announcement by yours truly.

Narrator: The festivities begin at noon with a special ribbon cutting ceremony hosted by Mayor Grisham and King Falls AM’s own Sammy Stevens and Ben Arnold.

Grisham: So, come join the biggest party of the year! And let us all hope big number 7 is our lucky number:

(Welcome Back to 660 theme plays)

Ben: I’m not opening it! I-I don’t care!

Sammy: Can you guys please adult a little better?

Troy: 10-4, Sammy.

Sammy: Did you hear that ad, Ben?

Ben: Hear it? I had to help edit it.

Sammy: How do we get roped into hosting that rigged get together with Mayor Grisham?!

Ben: I told you about that…

Sammy: You most defiantly did not tell me about that.

Ben: Oh, I absolutely did! Because I didn’t know how you were gonna feel about being on stage with the Mayor… and Merv emailed and said we had to? So I was worried about the wording and – DAMMIT. I didn’t send it…

Sammy: I don’t wanna do this. You know how I feel about the Mayor and that ridiculous voting –

Ben: Sammy! Can you please adult a little better?

Sammy: *under his breath* Dammit.

Troy: Oh, you’ll have a grand old time, Sammy! All the residents come out block party style. There’s some damn good food and some damn good fun.

Ben: Yeah, Sammy. Plus, if you hang out a bit Chet usually gets plastered and starts playing saxophone and hitting on the soccer moms.

Sammy: Oh, so it’s just regular Chet.

Ben: Yeah, but in a public setting.

Sammy: It sounds like the best fake party a town could throw -

(Lots of static and cutting out – picking up on another transmission)

Ben: *between static barely audible* Don’t be like that, Sammy.

Beauregard’s Worker: *on another signal cutting in through the static* Yeah, it’s almost ready.

Beauregard: *through static* I don’t care how hard it is! Just make it work!

Worker: I’m on it sir, but, uh, last time we pushed it to the limit, i-it knocked the whole town off the grid for weeks!

Beauregard: Don’t tell me what it did. Show me what it can do. Do you need help moving that? Celestia! Wake the yard boy and have him help Thompson and this gadget.

Thompson: It’s okay, we don’t wanna move it until it’s ready –

Beauregard: I will not have this eyesore in my east wing for another night! Either it’s ready or it’s moving.

Thompson: I – uh, I’m sorry! It’s j-just not ready. Between this and school starting back up, I’m doing all I can!

Beauregard: Do more! You’re amassing a small fortune and my patience is growing thin…

Pete: Hey, Mr. B… *yawns* What can I do ya for?

Beauregard: Don’t just stand there! You simpleton! Help Thompson move the signal transmogrifier into the –

Pete: Ohhhhh! Is that the thing that caused the Electrolocaust?

Ben: *cutting back into transmission* Okay just because he can sit in on us doesn’t mean I have to open his late Christmas present.

Sammy: Guys, please! Take a couple calls and maybe you’ll change your mind.

Ben: What is this stupid thing anyway? This is a ploy!

Troy: I left it in the car, Ben. I don’t think you should be opening it live on the air, anyway.

Ben: Oh, I don’t think I should open it up at all. But let me tell you, if I’m opening your dumb gift, it’s gonna be live!

Sammy: GUYS! More phone calls, less arguing.

Ben & Troy: Sorry.

Sammy: Line 11 welcome to King Falls AM with Sammy, Ben, and special guest… Deputy Troy.

Troy: That’s off duty Deputy Troy tonight.

Caller: Hey,Shot-Gun!

Sammy: Hey…you…

Caller: Don’t wanna take up a slew of your time, Shot-Gun, but I think you guys just had your frequency hijacked or something.

Ben: What do you mean, sir?

Caller: Pirates! I was listening and then it just cut into something else!

Sammy: The commercial, you mean?

Caller: Don’t be silly! I know a paid advertisement when I hear one, Shot-Gun!

Ben: What was it? Music? What’d it sound like?

Sammy: Are you sure you’re tuned in properly?

Caller: Ha! And yes! It was just science-y sounds... just trying to do a service to my favorite AM station in the whole wide world! Haha! And I did!

Sammy: Uh-huh…okay, buddy, well thanks for letting us know.

Caller: Anything for the show, Shot-Gun!

Ben: Dude are you still –

Caller: Shot-Guuuuuuuuuun (makes noise like a car engine) Shammy! *hangs up*

Troy: I like that guy.

Ben: You would…

Sammy: Lucky Line number 1.

Ben: You’re live on King Falls AM with Sammy and Ben. Nobody else.

Caller: Boys I’m lost as can be. Like a grown man at a Miley Cyrus concert. Lost, I tell ya.

Ben: I guess we can try to help. Where you at?

Sammy: It’s Sweetser Forrest, I just know it!

Caller: I was headin up to my mama’s old place. I used to live up here in King Falls, but I’ll be damned if Abaline didn’t get me.

Ben: Hey! Good job, Sammy!

Troy: Who’s this we’re speakin to? You sound awfully familiar, friend.

Caller: Well hell yeah I sound familiar, Troy! You might know me back from my number 1 smash hit in 2003 “She Ain’t Worth the Car She Drove Away In”

Ben: NO WAY!!!!!

Troy: I am not believing this.

Ben: Dusty Reynolds?!

Dusty: As the census says, the one and only! How you fellas, doin?

Ben: Better now, man!

Sammy: I’m sorry. Who’s this we’re excited about?

Ben: This guy is a bonafide King Falls LEGEND.

Dusty: Legend might be a little high, heh, but I’ll take it.

Troy: Ol’ Dusty here left King Falls right after graduation and went off and became a big star.

Sammy: A big star?

Dusty: Now, now… I wouldn’t go that far, but you two go right ahead…

Ben: He was number 1 on the music charts, Sammy! AND he’s a hometown boy!

Sammy: Well that’s something! What kind of song was it? Where did it chart?

Dusty: The only two that do count: country and western.

Sammy: Oh! Okay…

Ben: Sing us a lil somethin’ Dusty!

Dusty: Well, I don’t think I should, but… ahem. ♪Well I know you loved him, back when he was a girl ♪

Troy: Oh, damn, he’s still got it!

Sammy: *softly* Is… is this real life? Are-are you guys messing with me?

Ben: What’re you doing driving back to The Falls is the middle of the damn night, man?

Dusty: I gave up the biz, Ben. Just cold turkey.

Troy: Shucks…

Dusty: I just lost sight of what made it special. Figured I’d come back home and try to find that spark again. Plus, Mayor Grisham hired me to sing a song at this thing in a couple weeks. No better time to start over than now.

Ben: You’ll be right back at the top in now time, buddy!

Dusty: You better believe it! I was just too happy… good kids, great house, wife as hot as road tar! I guess I needed to lose it all just so I could find my roots.

Troy: You sayin you and Gloria broke up? I ain’t seen a relationship change or status update or nothin.

Dusty: Oh, it’s all over the TMZ. I was out doing the country fair circuit and she was havin Javier our pool boy scrub way more than the jacuzzi… She took it all. My heart, my soul, even my dignity. Whitney Houston don’t know (censored)!

Ben: S-sorry to hear that…

Dusty: Well, you win some, you lose some. Dammit, that’s what I’m talking about! I need the sadness, hombre. I gotta get the blues back to go with my god-given rhythm.

Sammy: Well, welcome back home, sir. Wish it were under better circumstances.

Dusty: Thanks a lot, Dimond Dave.

Sammy: Actually, this is Sammy Stevens…

Troy: Give us a little encore before you go, Dusty.

Dusty: Come on, Troy! You know I shouldn’t! Ahem… ♪Hey there, spooky ghost, you better let me go! Hey there, spooky ghost, you’re see through ass is too slow! ♪

Ben: Never gets old! Talk to ya later, Dusty.

Troy: Later, buddy! We’ll hook it up once you get back and get settled.

Dusty: But- I really did need some help! *call disconnects*

Ben: Wow! Can’t believe that S-O-B is coming back home!

Sammy: *dryly* He sounds like a laugh a minute.

Troy: We had some good times back in the day… didn’t we, Ben?

Ben: Don’t use Dusty’s goodwill to wedge back into my life, Troy.

Troy: You know what, I’m real tired of goin round and round with you. Here’s the thick and thin of it: Imma give that present and if you don’t like it we don’t ever have to speak again.

Ben: You promise?!

Sammy: Guys… that’s an awful big promise to keep. Let’s all just calm down…

Troy: I mean it! Forrealsies! If you hate this thing, which I got outta the kindness of my heart, then we couldn’t stand to be pals anyway.

Ben: You just signed a check that you aren’t prepared to cash, Troy.

Troy: You just signed a check…well… I ain’t just gonna copy you, but… you messed up, future bud. BRB

(Sounds of Troy getting up and leaving)

Ben: Even if I love this thing I’m gonna –

Sammy: While I don’t agree you two should be putting your entire future on the line based on a belated Christmas gift… you should at least play fair.

Ben: Oh, I will. I’m just sayin… even if it’s good…

(Sounds of Troy coming back. Weird animal noises start up again)

Troy: Now, look, I got the box. But…I just don’t think you should do this live on the air.

Ben: Oh, it’s happening live! I want the entire town to hear the disappointment.

(animal noises getting louder)

Sammy: Is that thing supposed to be making that racket?

Troy: Google says it does. (animal continues) Here it is, Ben.

Ben: You serious? You’re not even gonna say “Merry Christmas”?

Troy: I ain’t squeezing out another syllable until you open that box.

Ben: It’s shaking, man. It’s shaking and making noises. I’m a little worried.

Sammy: Ladies and gentlemen, Ben has stepped away from his mic and is laying the box on the table.

Troy: Oh, I gotta get a picture of this!

Sammy: And now Troy is leaving his microphone and going around to Ben. Hey! Hey, don’t push him, Ben! Sorry. Ben’s opening the box now. If this was morning radio I’d hit the Brad Pitt “WHAT’S IN THE BOX?” button right now…

(animal noise stops)

Ben: NO (censored) WAY! (animal yips happily)

Troy: I told you! Didn’t I tell ya? Didn’t I tell him, Sammy?!

Sammy: Okay, for real, what’s in the box?

Ben: Troy… I…can’t believe it.

Troy: You folks listening at home can’t see, but I’m doing my best buddy two-step.

Sammy: Come on! What is it?!

Ben: I’m just…in shock.

Troy: Are we buddies?

Sammy: This is worse than the briefcase in Pulp Fiction…WHAT’S IN THE DAMN BOX?!

Ben: Troy… we are friends. Dude, I can’t believe it!

Troy: How bout a hug for old times’ sake?

Sammy: Don’t push it, Troy…

Ben: Bring it in, big guy!

Sammy: Alright, dammit! I’m gonna go look in the box, excuse me, folks.

Ben: This is the most thoughtful gift that anyone has ever given me. I’m…so sorry I gave you all this grief.

Troy: It’s alright. Hatchet buried, little buddy.

Sammy: What the HELL is that thing?!

Ben: Sammy, you remember Serendipity, right? That’s what this is! Troy got me a sugar glid-

Troy: AHEM! Cat!

Ben: What?

Troy: Well, I got you a new cat. I could never replace ol’ Serendipity the sugar glider no matter how much I wanted because as we all know, sugar gliders aren’t allowed to be brought into the state as a domestic pet.

Sammy: That is the weirdest cat that I’ve ever seen.

Ben: Right! A cat! The best friggin’ cat ever! Does he have a name?

Troy: You’re gonna love it: Peas! Peas the sugar gl-

Ben: CAT. Peas the cat…

Troy: Yup, Peas the cat. Partly cause he loves to eat peas, and…partly cause I was hoping you’d give peas a chance.

Ben: I need another hug, Troy! GET OVER HERE!

Sammy: *laughs* Okay, I think we’re gonna take a quick break and get this…cat out of the studio. Maybe if I can pry apart this bro hug I’ll tell Troy it’s actually “give peace a chance”… Maybe not. We’ll be right back after a word from our sponsors, folks.

#King falls #king falls am #kfam #Ben Arnold #podcast #transcript #sammy stevens #king falls am transcript

15 notes · View notes

savvyherb · 5 years

Text

An Old-School Dealer Talks About Life in the Modern Weed Trade

‘Hey, you around?’ is VICE’s column asking drug dealers not just what they’re selling, but how they’re doing.

‘J.W.’ is 36, from Kansas City and has been selling weed, mushrooms, wax, cartridges and LSD since he got out of prison three years ago.

Hey, you around?

Always brother, what’s good?

What do you sell and where?

Cannabis, concentrates, edibles, cartridges, shrooms, LSD at times. I love the psychedelics, but marijuana is my main thing. I do a lot of little retail stuff, quarters halves and ounces. I have a delivery service. We deliver all over the Kansas City area. Mostly ounces, carts, and edibles. There’s a $100 minimum for delivery. Top of the line indoor, some greenhouse, and outdoor. I rock it all out at different price levels.

How do your customers know what you have or what’s new?

I do strain updates and send images by phone. I’m old school. I use burner phones. No social media like these youngsters. That’s a bust in my book. I’ve been selling weed since back in the day—when cannabis was considered as bad or worse than heroin. I still use the safeguards practiced at the height of the War on Drugs. Call me paranoid, but I switch burner accounts every 21 days. Most of my customers are regular. They want an ounce every week or two. Some go hard on the indoor, some don’t care. They like that 80s style weed. Some just want cartridges and edibles. Some like to trip.

How do they contact you to come over and score?

They just text my burner phone and give me their order. I prepare it and deliver it within 12 hours. No one comes to my house. In fact, I don’t like anyone to know where I live. Keeps it better that way. Mostly I deliver to their residence, but sometimes we meet out in public at restaurants or gas stations. But I prefer to go to their house. I like to get to know my customers and see how they’re living. It’s important to have their trust. I run a cash business and my customers are super important to me.

How do you get new customers?

Through referrals from my current customers. For every referral I give $25 off the next order. It works out good. I get more business, my customers hook up their friends, and they get $25 off their purchases. I’m always looking to expand, but I’m careful. Not that I’m afraid of getting busted by the cops, they don’t really sweat marijuana dealers these days. I don’t want to get hooked up with any crackhead type customers, you know. I deal with professionals. Lawyers, doctors, nurses, business owners, people that work, and conduct themselves in an upwardly mobile manner.

How risky is it driving weed and psychedelics around the Kansas City metro area?

I’m pretty clean cut. When I tell people I’m an ex-con that did ten years for weed and LSD most people are surprised. I got a newer vehicle and obey the speed limits and traffic laws, so getting pulled over is the least of my worries. Plus I keep everything wrapped up and vacuum sealed in plastic. Just in case I do get pulled over I don’t need a cop smelling weed and wanting to search my car. I don’t smoke in my car either. I keep it clean, so when I’m riding dirty there’s no reason to give me more than a cursory glance. Just another Midwest guy going about his day in the suburbs. If you drive safe it’s not really that risky at all. I sell small amounts too, ounces and under, so it’s not like I’m hauling pounds around, like in my younger years before I caught my case. I really don’t think the cops really care.

Ever had trouble with the cops or close calls or sketchy moments?

I did ten years in prison, but I’ve been out for a minute. Everything’s been going pretty smooth although I did catch a case for weed possession. That’s going through the system now. With the way the laws are now I’m probably looking at probation, even with my record. I never stopped selling.

The way I look at it, cannabis is legal. They just approved medical marijuana in Missouri. Kansas, where I got my case, hasn’t decriminalized yet, but they get so many big weed busts from people smuggling cannabis out of Denver that they’ve kind of streamlined their law enforcement efforts. I’ve seen people, with cooperation, get probation for 50 pounds, so it’s not a big bust like it’s been in the past.

The one thing that sucked with my possession case was that I had to take a urine test as part of my bond conditions. I had to stop smoking. But it’s cool, I just sell now. I’m in the process of getting a medical card. When I do, I’ll start smoking again. The cops can’t do nothing once I get that.

Have you ever been robbed by bogus buyers or have someone not pay you a debt for stuff they got on the front?

That’s happened to me in the past when I was younger. I fronted two pounds to these guys when I was in college and they got robbed. They tried to pay me back, but I basically had to eat it. Plus over the years different guys have fucked shit up. I had one guy that owed me sven grand and another ten grand. Never collected.

But that was before I did my ten year bid. Since I’ve been out I deal on a cash-only basis. If you don’t have the cash you can’t get the weed. Makes it easier that way. I’ve gotten burned so I’ve learned not to trust in that regard. But most of my customers are professionals and working class types so they always have money to spend.

What’s the best thing about your job?

Selling weed and psychedelics is just my side hustle. I got a regular job too. I work at a restaurant. But selling gives me extra money to spend and use for my bills. That way I can keep my legit money in the bank. Not like I’m getting rich off my delivery service, but it makes ends meet. I’ve basically been selling to support my habit. But since I can’t smoke right now it seems like I’ve been making more money. I love selling weed and I always have. I love selecting the weed, running my hands through it, smelling it, weighing it up into ounces and bagging it up.

I’m just a marijuana guy for real. Always have been. Some people are butchers or auto mechanics, I’m a marijuana connoisseur. I have to admit that I love the counterculture and outlaw perspective to it. That feeling like I’m a rebel, going against the grain so to speak. I’ve always felt like I’m supplying a much needed service. The world wants and needs marijuana and I bring it to them. My motto here in KC is that I bring Denver to you.

What do you do in your downtime and how do you balance dealing with real life?

I work out a lot and like to go mountain bike riding and hiking. I like to be outdoors. When I’m not working or selling weed I like to get out in the sun and hang out in the wilderness or at someone’s pool. I go out to eat a lot with my girl, plus we go to a lot of concerts or music shows. I balance my delivery service with my job by scheduling drop-offs before or after work. It’s like I got two jobs really.

What do customers do that drives you insane?

The biggest pet peeves I have are when my customers buy from someone else. There’s a lot of weed around, a lot of competition, and consumers try to play dealers off each other. I like repeat customers. I treat my customers good. When they go somewhere else, it’s like a betrayal.

Do any of your customers smoke worrying amounts of weed?

I encourage my customers to take tolerance breaks. That good indoor that’s around everywhere right now can be like 25 percent THC. That shit will leave a motherfucker brain dead. Zombified, you know what I mean? I like to smoke some good outdoor myself. When I see my clients get like that I’ll act like I don’t have anything to sell them or I’ll tell them I’m waiting on a shipment to come in. I wouldn’t want anyone to become addicted. That’s not right. I don’t think marijuana can be addictive. But people can abuse it. I don’t support that.

I’ve gone through periods where I smoke from sunup to sun down. Wake and bake has always been my calling card. It’s about moderation. I see drug abuse in others. But a lot of it depends on how much access to money they have. And weed isn’t like heroin. You’re not going to shoot up thousands in a few days. But I’ve seen people and I’ve been that person who’s smoking too much. I have to check myself and I’ve checked others even when they didn’t appreciate my interference.

Do you plan on getting out the game?

I’m getting out sooner than later. Legal weed is coming and they will start cracking down on the unlicensed. Not to throw offenders in jail like the War on Drugs, but by taking their crops and stock. Just wiping them out like it’s nothing. Big pharma is taking over the game. They want their money. The days of weed and outlaws is coming to a close.

I’m planning on winding it down now. I’ll check out the shops and maybe even grow my own. Missouri’s guidelines allow patients to grow six plants. It’s been a good hustle while it lasted and I’ll still pick up exotics here and there and offer to certain friends that I know have the cash ready, but basically the delivery service will be over. I want to start growing. And become a caretaker for others so I can grow more weed. It will take me back to my pre-prison days.

Will drugs always be part of your life?

I think drugs, at least maybe marijuana and possibly mushrooms, will always be a part of my life. They help me to look at things differently and see the world for what it is. I need that mind fuck or escape or whatever you want to call it. All humans do. It’s just how we’re wired. It makes no difference if it’s marijuana, nicotine, caffeine, cocaine, or sugar. They’re all drugs. In effect you’re damned if you do and damned if you don’t. It’s all about moderation.

*Interviews were conducted over encrypted message and names changed; the interviews have been lightly edited for clarity.

source https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/pa7gd9/an-old-school-dealer-talks-about-life-in-the-modern-weed-trade

The post An Old-School Dealer Talks About Life in the Modern Weed Trade appeared first on Savvy Herb Mobile Cannabis Platform.

from WordPress https://ift.tt/2ZMCkC7 via IFTTT

#cannabis #marijuana #thc #cbd

0 notes