the way people act like the people youre sexually attracted to is some sort of praxis is really annoying for a lot of reasons! because like, yeah, when people say that a whole marginalized group isnt hot, its usually informed by some sort of bigotry, either implicit or explicit. are black women not hot, or have you just decided that every black woman looks and acts the same, and that anything outside of eurocentric beauty standards is "ugly"? would you actually hate dating a fat man, or have you just made a lot of assumptions about what kind of person they must be because of their body, and decided that was at odds with your own interests? you say you wouldnt date a trans woman because you "dont like men" and you're "not interested in penises", but youre just assuming that every trans woman is just a cis man in a dress, which is absolutely not true! OBVIOUSLY prejudice influences peoples attraction

but also like... you cant frame it as a direct expression of someones morals. some parts of what you're attracted to will change throughout your life, but a lot of it is baked in and cant really be changed, even if you might want it to! i mean, thats why conversion therapy demonstrably doesnt work. if youre a person who is really into. idk. vore or bdsm or redheads. even if you decide that actually thats immoral to be into, you're not really gonna be able to stop being attracted to it because sexual attraction isn't really something you get to sit down and CHOOSE. if youre not into anthro animals, theres no amount of sitting down and working on yourself that will convince you to start getting a boner at furry porn.

and then theres the obvious other problem, that being attracted to certain qualities or traits or demographics doesnt even mean that you actually have their best intetests at heart? racists date POC. fatphobes date fat people. misogynists date women all the fucking time!!!!!

i think your tastes are heavily influenced by your environment and your values, obviously, but you cant act like its a pure expression of your values. personally, as a fat person, i dont like people saying that not being attracted to my body is solely because of prejudice you need to unlearn. being attracted to my body isn't homework! it's not vegetables! it's not a thing you need to start doing because its Good For You whether or not you enjoy it! if you dont like my body, thats fine. the thing thats fatphobic is if you TELL ME that you think all fat people are unattractive, even though nobody asked what you thought, and we were talking about me specifically and not all fat people en masse. you can find me unattractive without being a fatphobe. the problem lies in using your lack of attraction to me as an explanation for why youre a fatphobe, or using it as a criticism of me personally. like you not being attracted to me is something i need to change about myself

anyway the actual point i wanted to make was that the worst part of this kind of rhetoric is that it makes it really hard to hornypost without people acting like im advocating for specific actions people MUST take about their own bodies :/ I'll be like "i think transfems with deep voices and who dont really pass well are incredibly sexy" and people will crawl out of the woodwork to be like "oh you think its WRONG for transfems to pass?? you think it's IMMORAL for them to do voice training? you think none of them should EVER get FFS or laser hair removal?????" like... no! i never said any of that shit! just because i think something is hot doesnt mean i think its wrong and bad to not do it. not everyone should make all their decisions based on what i think is hot. no one should, in fact. just because i think its cute when people have crooked teeth doesn't mean i want to criminalize braces. doesnt even mean that i dont think people who have straight teeth are hot. please just let me be horny in peace 😭😭😭

People have always complimented my hair for being “pretty/long”. My familys taken care of it my whole life cause idk how to do it. Its embarrassing and I cant learn cause I dont have the right products. It’s white people stuff and my hair is like 4a/4b. A while back I saw a post saying that its more groundbreaking if black girls grew out their hair instead of cutting it like white girls in shows. And I kinda agree with that. I also know that it’s my body and I could do whatever I want with it. My family says I shouldnt cut it cause they associate my beauty with my hair sometimes. My friend says I just need to learn how to take care of it. I dont wanna cut it because my hair has been/is a big part of me. But I wanna cut it cause its so much work. I also wanna learn and get to know my hair all over again. If I were to cut it Id wanna go bald and let it grow. I wanna feel the wind on my head and wake up without a weight on me ig. Idk if any of this made sense, if it doesn’t I could clarify. But do you have any advice/ideas on what I should do? If anyone else does that’d be really good, I could use some help.

Okay, I just wanna say this is YOUR choice. At the end of the day, you’re going to have to live with it, okay? Okay.

I’d definitely take a moment and really think about what you want to do. For me, I have a lot of hair as well and it’s sooooooo much to manage that I’ve thought about cutting it a few times. But I’ve always thought about how I’d feel in the end. Which is why it’s really important to know and understand yourself as a person. No one knows you better than yourself.

My advice for you is if you plan to keep your hair, definitely learn how to take care of it. There’s a few things that I use as someone with 4b hair. I use black castor oil to keep my scalp clean, there’s a specific shampoo and conditioner that I use because I have psoriasis so it helps keep mine clean as well. For just regular washing, I would definitely recommend Pantene. Some people may disagree but there’s a specific formula that’s really lightweight but it still cleans thoroughly. Also, with that I wanna say PLEASE USE CONDITIONER. It makes detangling so much easier, I promise you. I’d recommend finding cream that work well for you, I personally don’t use them because it makes my hair really heavy, I haven’t found anything that I like but you could be different so when I publish if anyone who has found cream that works for 4 type hair please feel free to share!

Side note: Everynow and then, do a hot oil treatment! There are looooooads of tutorials on YT.

When detangling I personally recommend using a wide tooth comb or a wide paddle brush. Start at the end of the hair and work your way up to the root. It hurts way less and it’s a little easier. Before you do that tho, part your hair into about six even sections, just so it won’t be so overwhelming. Then braid those sections after detangling to prevent matting. Now, an even better way to manage your natural, PROTECTIVE HAIR STYLESSSSS! Sew ins, wigs, braids, twists, faux locks, etc.

Find a BLACK hairstylist who specializes in these things, if you’re in Atlanta I recommend the Braid Bar in Jonesboro, they have great prices and do some awesome work. The best way to find someone who braids is just ask some of your black friends/family. Somebody’s cousin always does hair, I promise. If you can’t find anyone or you don’t have many black friends, Google and Instagram are gonna be your best friend. Most salons have photos on their IG pages and many stylists ask that you book through a number or DM, either way do some research honey. I’d honestly just recommend searching under the hashtag #boxbraids(Your city name).

If you really want to cut your hair though, find a hairstylist that specializes in natural hair. Specifically Type 4 hair. Again, word of mouth, Instagram, and Google are gonna be your best friends. I’m telling you to find someone who works with natural hair because they are best equipped to cut, treat, and style your hair the best. They will take extra care in making sure your hair is cared for. Plus a good scrub of the scalp is heaveennnnnn!

Ultimately, it’s up to you. I want to say though, regardless, it is your hair. Do not make your decision based on what your family or friends will say. Make your decision based on what you want, honey! Either way, you are beautiful! You are loved! And I promise you are not the first or the last black woman to love their natural hair but despise it at the same time! 💕

I love you, honey bun! Happy New Year! 🎊

Charmed 02x08 Review SPOILERS!!!!

Sorry this took so long y'all. Family stuff just blew up in my face this month has been just terrible it's been terrible since the end of november to be honest, so I just wasnt in the mood to review. But I shall starts. In general i liked the episode 8/10 for me. I like the pacing, the general plot advancing. I liked it, but I have some complaints though. So let's just get those out of the way. So I'll do pros and cons by subject since there were things I both disliked and liked about each thing.

1. Hacy

Let's just get this big guy out of the way. So abby and Harry kiss was a big no for me, although it was hot for sure.

Now there has been a lot of back and forth about this so I actually wanted to compare to the things that bugged me about Macyx galvin and where I thought one does better than the other.

Communication

So like Harry and Macy do not communicate well with each other right now. I feel that thier communication issues though are better (or at least make more sense to me) than Macy x Galvin.

Macy while communicating with Galvin, as far as arranging things, was bad, but with her kiss on halloween she did make her interest in Galvin known. They both had an understanding that they were interested. So I thought the whole Summer ordeal was worse in that sense because, while the follow through was poorly done, Macy's interest was stated.

With Harry and Macy, it appears that neither of them have stated any interest to one another (neither has told the other thier feelings) and neither is aware. So harry kissing some one else isnt as bad to me as the Galvin x Summer situation because of that (speaking about this area soley).

The passive aggressiveness of Harry and Galvin in certain situation isnt comparable because Harry is doing it more.I felt Harry's reactions are more justified (we will get to the hypocritical portion later) in that he is going through the wringer, is hurting and confused, and self-deprecating and many of us agreed that the thought of Macy preferring Jimmy would be bad and hurtful to Harry and logically make no sense. But harry has more scenes than Galvin did in season one so he feel more passive aggressive than Galvin, but I attribute that to screen time and proximity to the Macy (he always there so more time and chances to interact). But also, for me, Galvin wasnt as passive agressive and his sometimes aggressive or snideness wasnt because of Macy. Outside stuff (problems with summer) would make him snap or his trauma also caused him to snap so the situations are comparable there but, again Harry has more screen time so his snapping feels worse to me because it happens multiple time in one episode versus one or twice in a whole season. Since the situation ( and right now I am speaking soley on the summer x Galvin situation) was different. I am up in the air I as to which was "worse" i think both situations are sucky and i think i am more bothered by Galvin x Summer because again Macy had actually expressed her interest (communication wise) but the hacy situation feels more full of that passive aggressiveness and that will turn it into something I really cant get behind. Right now I feel Harry is in a bad place and probably shouldnt be with anyone until he get himself settled personally.

Love triangle/square or whatever

So like with summer x Galvin it wasnt really a love triangle I mean kind of but not really. Galvin didnt pursue Macy while with summer and was generally nice during that time. Summer wasnt necessarily the jealous girlfriend stereotype she was nice, but did call out suspect behavior.

The abby xharryx Macy x jimmy thing is like aweful. It is the love triangle that I hate most at least where the abbyxharryxmacy part is concerned.

I mentioned it before but I hate when one or two people use another person as a means of getting release/relief when they are actually interested in someone else. I think it is cruel to both the used character and the main LI. Worse when both are using others because twice the cruelty. IDK what was going on in Harry's head. But I have never like that type of love triangle, and worse so because it is possibly the other type of triangle I hate which is (usually guy) caught between two ladies and one is clearly the villian (I thank novelas for this gem *sarcasm*) and it is mostly a lust thing.

Especially given that James Westwell was a serial cheater, apparently, this idea of "I love one person but am in lust with the other despite thier character" is like the worst to me. Abby is straight up an ambitious murder, and like I guess that maybe Harry's default type because Charity had similar qualities, but again for a guy who supposedly has strong feelings for Macy and was so confused and hurt by her attraction to Jimmy (which apparently wasnt attraction at all) the ease of him doing the very thing he was mad about , and the ease of being able to push aside his feeling for Macy and give in to that abby kiss was gross.

Sorry but although they werent together, for me, guys who can do that easily should be on our cheater radar. Knowing that James was a serial cheater just makes it worse imo.

While the summer x Galvin situation felt worse on the communication front (expressed feelings) it was better done than here because there is a lot more grossness in the dynamics of the love shape thing right now.

Overall, I get Harry isnt in a place to be with anyone and it's all confusing and he is lashing out. He has not told Macy his interest and neither has she so he shouldnt be held to the boyfriend standards. But still the writers are toeing the line here. What happens next will actually help me define whether this turns into a Galvin situation where I end up not liking the two characters together. If Harry tries to continue the passive aggressiveness about Macy and Jimmy. I'll be done. I mean if he does have feelings for abby and trying to move on, but still tries to pull that with Macy it will just be straight up manipulative. Right now I am like okay he was lashing out and I get it and the abby kiss is probably a big mistake. He can continue the mistake path if the writers wasnt to go there, but if he doesnt recognize that he did something hypocritical and still comes for Macy about Jimmy it will be very very wrong.

I think they for sure need to clear the air but if the writers wait to long or do too much damage I wont be satisfied with the clearing of the air.

I am not necessarily mad right now over the abbyx Harry thing because I am waiting to see how they will handle and present it, but I mean it is on that line and writers need to watch out. I dont think Harry was trying to be manipulative and the lashing out happened before abby kiss. As long as the lashing out (at Macy) doesnt continue I will watch and support the development and exploration of thier relationship and dynamic with the others.

2. Maggie

So like Maggie shows her naivety here and I am not that mad. Like she isn't pulling a "I am so in love and blind to the world" thing she makes her decision based on what she thinks will do the most good for the most people. It is still naive, but she is still maturing and you can see that. Her wanting her sisters to trust her judgment and not feel like they have to baby her is reasonable although again those insecurities clouded the main issues here. She is growing and I shall see how she continues to mature.

3. Mel

I think they tried to fit some personal development for mel here and it both worked and didnt work. I thought it wasnt done badly but at some points I was like....okay could this have been saved for another episode or done beforehand. I wanted to see it, just didn't think it felt in place, especially after leaving the wedding. She just had some development and then was like welp guess I am gonna stumble upon this amber. Like mel could have gotten her new powers before, I mean I felt they could have made the stumble upon the amber scene and new powers at any point before and it could have been more relevant and interesting placed somewhere else than this episode.

4. Abby/overlord/parker storyline

Abby was probably the best thing in this episode. I love her as a villian. I am here for it and I want it.

Parker got dark real quick and while I think he and Maggie shouldnt be together, I am glad he didnt die. Also glad abby clarified that his actions weren't caused by the apple. Because at least OG with Cole the tragedy (the first storyline) was that he made a choice to protect the person he loved but he ended up becoming the source and actually being taken over by the source so his actions were tinted by his OG love but corrupted by that force that possessed him. Where as abby tells him, that that jealousy and want for blood was all him. Maybe the apple and that power made him more likely to act on it than of he hadnt, but it wasnt the apples fault necessarily so. I am glad for the clarification, makes me not want Maggie and him together, but I like that exploration of power and choice. Even with Macy while the power amplified those insecurities she still was making choice which also made her choice to give up that power extra meaningful. Power is corrupting but you can still choose to fight that corruption or give in to it. I like that.

5. Jordan

I love this character to be honest. I am still figuring him out, but like dude is cursed and has been basically touched, punched, and robbed by these guys. He can't catch a break and like nobody even checks on him. Like he so far is a pretty decent although suspicious (like he doesnt trust others easily not like he himself is suspect) guy and I like him but he is getting some serious Darryl treatment right now. I dont like that, but I like him and want to see more of him. Plus, what the heck happened? Did they leave him passed out in the gym? Did they wipe his memory? What is going on?

Episode highlights

Jordan trying to defend maggie and get parker to leave

The power of Four looking fine as heck for a wedding

Mel as a fly talking to herself

Macy walking in on that kiss

How To Make The Best Homemade Lugaw

Lugaw is a traditional Filipino dish that's very similar to rice porridge. It's nice to eat during the cold and rainy months in the morning, and also feels good to eat after a night out with friends drinking. Recently I've been trying out how to make lugaw on my own, and I think I figured out a way to make this great dish even better.

Most Filipinos know lugaw normally peddled on bikes along streets by the neighborhood food vendor or carinderias. A bowl of lugaw would usually be around 10-15 pesos for the regular ones, while those with add-ons like ox tripe (AKA twalya), pig intestines (isaw), or pig heart (puso) cost a bit more but make eating the plain dish feel a little bit more special. Most would also serve their lugaw with condiments and here is how each person could personaliaze their lugaw to their own liking. Most vendors would also offer calamansi, fried garlic, soy sauce, fish sauce, vinegar, hot sauce, chili oil and spring onions for free and people can just mix it with their lugaw and be happy campers.

There's also some variations of the local rice porridge. I consider them to just variations of one dish. In general, yellow 'lugaw' is contains pork and pig organs, 'arroz caldo' has pieces of pulled chicken meat, while the white 'goto' comes with beef.

Today my recipe will be focusing on lugaw. I choose lugaw over the other two since pork is very fatty and will produce the tastiest rice porridge.

The first step would be to prepare ingredients and tools that we will need:

Deep cooking pot or casserole

Blender

Glutinous/sticky rice, 250g

2.5L water

One medium white onion, chopped

One medium carrot, diced

One stalk of celery or celery powder, 1 tsp

4 cloves of garlic, crushed and roughly chopped

Small nub of peeled ginger, sliced

Pork lomo/kasim, skin removed

2 chicken buillons

Fish sauce, 2tbsp

Okay, so you might be wondering why there's carrots, celery and onions in my recipe. It's definitely not traditional. Some would just use turmeric or atsuete seeds for coloring. We would be using the vegetables in this case to provide both color and flavor to our final dish. Trust me that this will be the best lugaw you've ever made yourself.

First off, put a little bit of oil in the bottom of a cooking pot, put it on medium heat, and add the pork. We want the pork to brown on all sides and sweat, releasing its own fat to become flavor for the rest of the ingredients. It should take around 4-5 minutes. Remove the pork once it's browned and the fat is slightly translucent, meaning its already cooked to the inside.

(NOTE: Although most street vendors would cook their organs with the lugaw, I would not do that if I would be claiming to make the best homemade lugaw. If not cleaned properly, the earthiness of the organs will make its way into the dish and may make some people think they're eating unclean food. I don't like that, that's why we're cooking our meat separately. Also, if you would instead prefer to have the skin on the pork, that would be fine. It's just that it usually takes a lot more time and oil to cook it, and if there's too much oil in the pot we would need to remove the excess, which would also mean removing the rendered pork fat. Not ideal.)

After properly browning the meat, add in our carrots, celery and white onion. There should be brown bits from the meat that's sticking to the bottom of your pan. This is called fond, and fond is flavor! Don't remove the fond and oil we've extracted from the pork because we will cook the vegetables in these. They should come off easily as these vegetables cook because they will release a bit of water as they sweat. The vegetables should be done by 5 minutes. We wont add in the garlic until the carrots have turned a bit soft and the onions translucent. Garlic burns easily and would turn bitter if we added them too early. Cook for another 2-3 minutes until the room is fragrant. And I mean FRAGRANT. The carrots, celery and onion is called mirepoix in classic french cuisine and serves as the base for many sauces and soups.

(NOTE: Celery is a bit hard to find in the Philippines and is usually expensive. Just use celery powder if you want, a little goes a long way.)

Once our vegetables are cooked, we add 500mL of our water to the vegetables. This step is called deglazing. We actually deglazed the fond from the pork using our vegetables, and we will once again be deglazing fond produced by our vegetables using our water. White onions and carrots have a lot of sugar in them and cooking then until tender is a great way to release those flavors and incorporate them to our final dish. After we've added the water, we will then scratch off the bottom of our pan until we've removed all of the fond.

We then put everything inside our blender. Blend everything until really smooth. You shouldnt see any chunks big or small of our vegetables because it might be offputting for some since they're not used to seeing vegetables with their lugaw. You will see that once the carrot is finely blended that it our mixture will become yellowish orange, and that is exactly what we want. Most street vendors just add food coloring to their lugaw and we won't be doing that because that method doesnt add any flavor to our dish. All that aroma and fragrance we got from cooking the vegetables over the stove? That's what separates THE BEST LUGAW FROM ALL THE REST.

Once blended, return everything to our cooking pot. Add in our glutinous rice and the rest of our water together with our 2 chicken buillons and fish sauce. Add in the amount ginger to your liking, as some people do not like the taste of ginger especially when you accidentally bite down in it.

(NOTE: Sometimes what I would do is cook the ginger together with the vegetables and then remove it. It's also optional to just crush the ginger and add in the ginger juice.)

My recipe uses a 1:10 ratio between our rice and liquid, 250 grams of rice to 2.5L of water. The glutinous rice actually expands and gobbles up most of our liquid, and thickens our lugaw as if we're reducing our broth through simmering. As the starch from our sticky rice mixes with the pork fat we cooked earlier, it's going to thicken up our lugaw even more through emulsification. Who doesn't like thick lugaw? Bring to a boil then simmer for around 25-30 minutes or until the rice grains are translucent and continue leaving it on very low heat so that it stays warm and continuously stirring so that the rice doesnt end up sticking to the bottom and burning.

(NOTE: You might also be thinking, why not use chicken stock? Well, chicken stock is a bit expensive in the Philippines, and buillons/broth cubes are much more accessible. Also, chicken stock, I believe, will be a bit too overpowering for our dish since we already added mirepoix. We want the dish to not taste too hearty because we still want to be able to add other flavors to our bowl of lugaw later on.)

Once you have the consistency you want of your lugaw, grab a bowl and scoop some. I believe it's best practice to taste the lugaw first on its own to know it's own flavor so take a spoonful first and only then add condiments to your liking. Personally though, I will only add my own chili oil (more on this on a later post), freshly ground black pepper, freshly squeezed calamansi, a little bit of garlic-infused red cane vinegar (a different kind of sour from calamansi and from the regular white vinegar) and that is all.

Cut up some of the pork we've fried earlier and place it in top of your lugaw. The crunchy pieces of fatty pork goes well with the thick, soupy consistency of the lugaw.

(Note: You can use any piece of meat or organ that you like. I simply do not like the laziness of not cleaning internal organs enough most street vendors and carinderias practice. That is understandable that they need to work fast to earn money, but they should boil their innards with some ginger to get rid of the foul taste and smell. If you're using organs, you can still use the same method I did with the meat so you'll still have fond. The common internal organs used for lugaw are usually fatty and will lend a lot of flavor to your lugaw except for the heart which is really muscular. The only exception would probably be ox tripe. Ox tripe is very gummy and chewy and should not be fried. You can boil it separately with some ginger and add it together to your lugaw as you're cooking it. You can even use chicken neck, as chicken skin releases a lot of fat and it crisps up really good which goes well with lugaw. You can also grill your meats and organs instead which will still go well with lugaw.)

I've put a lot of heart into making this recipe. I made a conscious decision to use the cheapest ingredients that make the most impact because I believe that good food doesnt have to be expensive. If you've tried out my recipe or have any other variations you think I missed and would like to share it here as well, I'd like to hear from you!

6 Types of Rental Property Add-Ons (& a Look at Whether They’re Worth It)

Generally speaking, adding additional living space to a property is not advisable unless its in a particularly high-end neighborhood. But as with anything, there are exceptions to this rule. Certain homes naturally lend themselves to easy additions, such as bedrooms or bathrooms, or present opportunities to convert already existing space into living space. Consider the following ways to not only improve your property but also add value to your investment. Bedroom or Bathroom Addition Sometimes you dont even need to add any square footage to a home in order to create an extra bedroom or bathroomeither of which can substantially increase the value of a property. (This is especially true if the house only has two bedrooms or one bathroom.) A third bedroom is advantageous to property owners because most families who are looking to move wont settle for any fewer. Families typically intend to stay in place longer than single tenants; therefore, they can be easily turned off by what they consider inadequate space. In certain situations, its even worthwhile to add a fourth bedroomespecially if the addition is easy to do. But it is rarely beneficial for homeowners to add a fifth. Oftentimes, especially with older homes, floor plans are far less than optimal (think large hallways and other poorly utilized space). Wasted square footage can present an opportunity to throw up a few walls, build a closet and install a door. Boom! Youve got another bedroom. As an alternative, maybe you could cut one large bedroom into twobut be careful with this. Heads of households (like parents) tend to like bigger master bedrooms, so avoid dividing one room into two if its the only large bedroom in the home.

Related: 7 Creative Ways to Add BRs, BAs & Other Value-Adds to Your Rental [With Pics!] Heres a final note on bedrooms: they must be at least 10 feet by 10 feet. They also arent legally deemed a bedroom if: they dont have a window to the exterior;dont have a closet; orare solely accessible by going through another bedroom. Bathroom additions dont require as much space, but they are more expensive to build. Remember, you will have to run plumbing, so the closer your new bathroom is to the main stack, the better. If there is a basement (or at least an easily accessible crawlspace), this can make it a lot easier to install new plumbing. Houses that are built on a slab foundation, however, are pretty much a lost cause. To add an extra bath would require cutting into the concrete to lay the plumbing, which is (needless to say) quite expensive. If a floor plan allows for it, there are several instances when adding a bathroom is a good idea. One key opportunity is when you are dealing with a large housesay, approximately 1,500 square feet or bigger. When possible, the extra bathroom should be connected to the master bedroom. (Again, parents love privacy.) As a space-saving option, a shower stall can be installed instead of a bathtub. And if there isnt enough square footage to add a full bathroom, a half bathroom (just a toilet and vanity without a bathtub) is still a significant improvement. Another instance in which you should try to add a half bath is when youre dealing with a large, multistory home with no bathroom on the first floor. Nobody wants to go all the way upstairs to use the restroom, and most people wouldnt like to send guests up there either. If you can squeeze in a half bath on the main level, its usually worth it to do so. That being said, preferably a house will have a bathroom on every floor. Worst case scenario would be a multistory property with all of the bedrooms upstairs and the only bathroom downstairs. Having to go down a flight of stairs every time nature calls in the middle of the night is not only less than ideal, but also dangerous. Theres no size requirements with regard to bathrooms, but they should be big enough for people to comfortably do anything they might need to get done in one. Unfortunately, bedroom and bathroom additions are not always practical or financially feasible. Whether or not the property is begging for one or the other (or both!) should factor into your decision to purchase the property in the first place. Related: 12 Creative Ways to Add Major Value to Apartment Buildings Garage Conversions More often than not, garage conversions arent worth it. Certain situations, however, make sense. First of all, recognize that by converting the garage into, say, a bedroom, you are quite obviously losing a garage in the process. Secondly, the garage will probably need to be insulated. And thirdly, it can be tough to match a homes siding or paint color if the conversion requires you remove the garage door. (For that reason, garage conversions are easiest when you also intend to update the homes exterior.) Garages are also often built on slabseven when the rest of the house is built on a crawlspace foundation or basement. Sometimes those slabs have settled, creating an uneven surface, which can make remodeling that much more difficult. Regardless, there are times when it does make sense to pull the trigger on a conversion. The most obvious instance is when you have a relatively small house (like a two-bedroom, 800-square-foot home) with a two-car garage. Its unlikely tenants need both garage bays, so using half the garage space to create a master bedroom and bathroom could add a lot of value while also retaining one garage spot. In some lower-end areas, I have seen investors carve out most of the garage to build an additional bedroom, while leaving the very front of the garage as basically a small storage locker. The purpose behind this? Section 8 pays more for additional bedrooms. So, these investors increase their income even if it makes the house feel a bit awkward.

Basement Conversions Whereas garage conversions are usually a bad idea, basement conversions are almost always a bad idea. I encountered countless half-finished basements when exploring properties shortly after the crash of 2008. Apparently, an unfathomable number of people thought it would be a good idea to refinance their house in order to finish their basement. Needless to say, they chose unwisely. Basement conversions can have a variety of problems. For one, many appraisals dont consider any finished space below grade (underground) to be countable square footage. Ive witnessed appraisers not count bathrooms when they were part of a finished basement. This means that the upward adjustment post-conversion will be rather small even though the cost can be substantial. But a bigger problem is water; a lot of basements leak. Most are vulnearble when there is a torrential downpour. And it can be an essentially endless and fruitless battle to prevent this from happening. Mold can form when water gets into a basement. Then, the property owner has to tear out the affected drywall and reinstall it, assuming theyve actually been able to seal the source of the leak. Its another metric of which Ive lost track. I cant count the number of finished basements Ive seen that are missing the bottom foot or two of drywall because of water damage. Rental properties with finished basements can introduce further problems. If a tenant has property in the basement and its destroyed by water issues, well, theyre not going to be particularly happy with you! Yet, there are times when basement conversion do make sense. The first instance occurs when additional bedrooms are at an extreme premium. The most obvious example of this isstudent housing, which rents out by the bedroom in hot markets. My dad is the master of finding ways to carve out bedrooms for his student rentalshe fills every nook and cranny. These extra bedrooms are often built in basements. Another instance when it makes sense to convert a basement is within a house where you can do a cheap finish. Best case scenario are homes with walk-out basements. With this type of property, only one side of the basement is underground (maybe due to the fact the house is on a hill). With these, I recommend simply painting all the walls white and the floor gray with an oil-based paint (so it wont scuff when people walk on it). Perhaps add a few lights, too. Voila! This finishes the basementsort ofand can make the space more appealing to renters, buyers, and appraisers. The best part is its cheap! Attic Conversions Attic conversions are rarely possible, but can make sense in certain circumstances. There are three major conditions that need to be met for an attic addition to work: The stairs to the attic need to be in good shape and not overly steep.The ceilings need to be tall enough.The area must be properly ventilated. Attics can get really hot in the summer and cold in the winter. Without an additional attic on top of your attic conversion, there wont be much insulation. So, you need to make sure the space can be heated and cooled sufficiently. Oftentimes, even if you have central air, you will want to provide an additional window unit. Steep stairs can turnoff buyers and renters, as well. The International Residential Code recommends that for a rise of 7.75 inches (vertical part), there should be a run (horizontal part) of 10 inches. Older homes may be grandfathered in with a steeper rise, but it shouldnt be too much steeper than that. Building codes vary by the region, but most require at least a seven foot ceiling. The 1994 Uniform Building Code requires a ceiling height of at least seven feet, six inches. Check the building requirements in your municipality, but anything less than that most likely cannot technically be considered living space. Regardless, very few people would want to have a bedroom with ceilings lower than that anyways. If your property meets all of these criteria and there is substantial value to gain by adding more living space, then (and only then) should you consider converting your attic. Enclosing a Porch Rarely is it a good idea to enclose a front porch in order to add on to a house. Back patios, however, can be a different story. It sometimes makes sense to enclose, insulate, ventilate, and convert back patios into an additional bedroom or living space. There are a few questions to ask yourself before embarking down this path. First things first: does the house needs extra living space to begin with? Next, keep in mind that people really like having direct access to their backyard. So, if you are planning to turn the porch into a bedroom, make sure theres another door to the backyard. (At the very least, ensure you can add a new one elsewhere.) Finally, just like with garage conversions, acknowledge that youre losing something when you enclose a porch. People like outdoor spaces, especially in cities with pleasant climates. Weigh the pros and cons before making the plunge. Is the cost of converting the porch actually worth the trade-off? Building an Addition Building an addition is somewhat like building a small house that attaches to an existing one. Maybe the foundation is already there, but its rare. Youll likely be starting from scratch. Anything like this requires permits. (Full transparency, much of the above does, as well, depending on the municipality). For this reason, adding an addition is rarely worth it unless property is located in a high-end area. Conclusion Adding additional bedrooms and converting non-livable space into livable space can be a huge value-add to real estate. But its not without costs, both financially and to the property itself. There are times when it makes absolute sense to pull the trigger, and others when it does not. This should provide a helpful guide for making such decisions.

When was a time you had to make a decision on value-adds for your properties? Comment below! https://www.biggerpockets.com/renewsblog/rental-property-add-ons

All 100 Questions.

Bloody hell okay thank you!!! 😄😄😄

1. Is a kiss considered cheating?Yeah, Id say so.

2. Have you ever faked orgasm?Aint never had anyone to fake it with 😂 Ngl tho its the sort of thing id do (which is terrible i know)

3. If you could have one super power, what would it be?Mind reading.

4. Do you think youre gonna be rich in 7-8-9 years?I’d be worried if I didnt have more money than I have now, but idk.

5. Tell us some funny drunk story?Oh jeez erm, I don’t really have any 😂 My friends occasionally remind me of the time at the school christmas ball one of the business teachers turned up and I quickly ran away while aggressively whispering “oh no he knows im a lesbian, aimee told him”.

6. Why are you no longer together with your ex?We work better as friends, its less stressful.

7. If you had to choose one way to die what would it be?See I’m really torn with this question. Part of me thinks itd be nice just to go in my sleep, with a heart attack or something. Its quick and painless you know.But equally I wonder if it would be better to maybe, like, have something where I knew I was gonna die. Because then I’d have time to try and do everything on my bucket list and say goodbye to everyone. Also maybe at that point I’d welcome death lmao.

8. What are your current goals?Idk? Im waiting on A level results which I really hope I’ve done well in.I hope to make lots of new friends at uni and learn how to look after myself quickly I guess. I dont know.

9. Do you like someone?I like a lot of people 😆

10. Who was the last person to disappoint you?Im really not sure??? There arent many people I expect anything from and even then my standards are pretty low. So like, I dont really get disappointed by people, only occasionally by situations.

11. Do you like your body?I could hate it a lot more, but I wouldnt say I’m happy with my body or general appearance. I struggle a lot with my features and my weight and the scars I have (which is ridiculous but thats what mental illness is)

12. Can you keep a diet?I mean if I wasnt on the diet im on rn (with lots of restrictions) id probs be in hospital 😂

13. If the whole world was listening to you right now, what would you say?Honestly id pass out under the pressure of it 😂 idk, id tell them all to take a chill pill but no one would listen.

14. Do you work?Nah, i had 3 jobs at once last yeah but now I’ve ended up with none.

15. If you could choose only one food to eat for the rest of your life what would it be?Either garlic bread or chocolate I cant decide!

16. Would you get a tattoo?I’m v much planning on getting one in the near future so yh!!

17. Something you dont mind spending all your money on?Plane tickets.

18. Can you drive?Yeah! I havent driven since I passed my test, but hopefully I havent forgotten how to that quickly!

19. When was the last time someone told you youre beautiful?…I cant remember. Thats depressing (not that I blame them).

20. What was the last thing you cried for?Argh I have no idea why I was crying, my brain just wasnt doing its job so everything made me stressed and sad.

21. Do you keep a journal?I keep a blog for diary posts but besides that nah

22. Is life fun?If you allow it to be, yeah

23. Is farting in front of people irrelevant?Tf is that supposed to mean? I guess if you know the person well it is.

24. Whats your dream car?I dont know about Dream Car, id have to research it loads to decide what my absolute fave it. Although rn I’d really love a ‘67 VW beetle bc theyre small and cheap on insurance 😂

25. Are grades in school important?My own grades are super important to me, (to the point its probably unhealthy) but in terms of how the people around me do, it doesnt really matter to me. I mean, I want everyone to do well, but I dont judge people based on it.

26. Describe your crush.She’s funny and all around awesome and interesting and good at deep convos and beautiful and way out of my league.

27. What was the last book/movie that really impressed you?The last one I read called The Bell Jar. It was unlike anything I’ve ever read and made me think about a lot of things. Also I related a lot with the main character.

28. What was your last lie?Eh, probably “im fine”.

29. Dumbest lie you ever told?Idk?? I only keep track of the good lies 😉

30. Is crying in front of people embarrasing?It shouldnt be but yeah, I try my best not to.

31. Something you did and are proud of?Umm, idk im p proud of playing basketball and representing my region/training with england. But i quit that so 👏 dicks out for my regrettable decisions 👏

32. Whats your favourite cocktail?Never had one

33. Something you are good at?Annoying people and being clingy 😂 also maths ig

34. Do you like small kids?It depends on the child, the day of the week, the lunar cycle, my menstrual cycle, how hungry I am…Yh legit sometimes I hate them sometimes I love them.

35. How are you feeling right now?Great omg I just got my best friend to watch mamma mia and now shes high on life next to me.

36. What would you name your daughter/son?🤐 there are a couple of names for girls I like and like 2 boys names? But i dont wanna say bc theyre embarrasing.

37. What do you need to be happy?Good company, good food and possibly music.

38. Is there someone you want to punch in the face right now?Theres always at least 3 people I would love to punch 😂

39. What was the last gift you recieved?My best friend got me a necklace and I almost cried its so beautiful

40. What was the last gift you gave?The gift of my company @only-slightly-dangerous 😉😉😉

41. What was the last concert you went to?I went to to see Amber Run in february

42. Favourite place to shop at?Um, as in shop? A place called blue banana probs (england’s hot topic smh)

43. Who inspires you?Kaitlyn Alexander bc they helped me to understand who I am and how I feel and to be loud and proud about it.And Luke Cutforth bc he’s so open about his mental health and struggles with self harm but hes so happy now.

44. How old were you when you first got drunk?18 lmao

45. How old were you when you first got high?It aint happened yet (and i dont really want it to)

46. How old were you when you first had sex?It aint happened yet smh

47. When was your first kiss?As far as im concerned never

48. Something you want to do until the end this year?What….does this mean….? Idk???

49. Is there something in the past you wish you hadnt done?It’s more stuff I wish I had done tbh. I suppose I said things I shouldnt have or got too involved in drama, but you kinda need all that secondary school shit to learn from it

50. Post a selfie.Lmao nah fam

51. Who are you most comfortable around?My best friend by a mile. Privacy who?

52. Name one thing that terrifies you.Abandonment without explanation.

53. What kind of books do you read?Anything non fiction about medicine/being a doctor/disease/psycopaths.Besides that whatever has been recommended.

54. What would you tell your 12 y/o self?1. Youre gay2. You and I both know you arent joking about being “a dude trapped in a girls body” stop laughing it off and confront it.3. Stand up for yourself.4. Chill out.5. Laugh a lot more omg

55. What is your favourite flower?It’s between petunias and roses

56. Any bad habits you have?Not answering peoples messages unless theyre Certain Person A or Certain Person B.

57. What kind of people are you attracted to?Ones that are out of my league and could kick my ass apparently. Also ones that are kind, listen and think a lot I guess

58. What was the last thing you cried for?Already answered

59. Is there something you dont eat? A food that truly disgusts you?I dont eat loads of stuff bc my guts hate me 😂 but besides all that I’m actually the worlds least picky eater. The only thing I dont like is raw tomato. Thats it.

60. Are you in love?I wish

61. Something you find romantic?All the clichés ngl 😂 just anything that says “i love you” or “i was thinking about you” really

62. How long was your longest relationship?Like 4 months? Barely long term.

63. What are 3 things that irritate you about the same sex?Oh jeez i hate these theyre so stereotype-y1. Bitching2. Not supporting each other3. ….?

64. What are 3 things that irritate you about the opposite sex?1. Not supporting each other2. Massive egos3. Yelling

65. What are you saving money for?Uni so I dont starve to death!

66. How would you describe your bad side?Hmm, idk, it depends what someone did to get on my bad side. I’d say stubborn, bitter and angry tho usually.

67. Are you actually a good person? Why?I could be wrong but I think so long as someone has morally good intentions they are usually a good person, whether they always succeed or not. So yeah, I like to think I am.

68. What are you living for?My friends and the hope I have for my future.

69. Have you ever done anything illegal?Piracy? Thats it.

70. Do you like your money?….did I type this question wrong or??

71. Have you ever made someone feel bad about themselves intentionally?Okay, the honest answer? Yeah. When I was a lot younger and less mature and someone said something that hurt me, I tried to retaliate with equally hurtful comments. I like to think I wouldnt do that now.

72. Ever sent nudes?Lol no

73. Have you ever cheated on someone?Hell no

74. Favourite candy?All candy hates me 😂

75. Is there a blog you visit everyday or almost every day? Tag them.Yeah @oneshappyplace knows I regularly spam her with notes in search or Quality Memes (im so sorry)

76. Do you play any computer games? Whats ur fave?Nah, as if I have time 😂

77. Favourite TV series?Argh I canny choose? I love the IT Crowd, I love supernatural, I love Sherlock, I love in the flesh…

78. Are you religious? Does God exist?I’m not religious and personally I don’t believe there’s a god or higher power but I could be wrong.

79. What was the last book you read? Did it impress you and why?The Bell Jar. See 27.

80. What do you think about vegetarians and veganism?I respect it I guess? At one point I was p much a vegetarian until I had to restrict my diet sooo. Tho I could never be one now, let alone a vegan.

81. How long have you been on tumblr?Too long 😂😂😂 Like 3 or 4 years?

82. Do you like chinese food?Love it!

83. McDonalds or Subway?(Never been to subway so) McDonalds.

84. Vodka or Whisky?(Never had whisky so) Vodka.

85. Alcohol or Drugs?(Never had drugs so) Alcohol.

86. Ever been out of your country?I’m currently in the USA so yeah 😂

87. Meaning behind your blog name?It’s p self explanatory and also v true

88. What are you scared of?Abandonment, deep water, knives, toys with battery packs.

89. Last time you were insulted?Ugh, probs like when I met up with a load of school friends for our leaver’s ball.

90. Most traumatic experience?I’d rather not answer that lmao (plus itd take a long time to type)

91. Perfect date idea?Chilling and listening to each other’s favourite songs while coexisting and eating fast food 😂 that or ikea ngl

92. Favourite app on your phone?Tumblr. Even though I hate it, it also keeps me sane.

93. What colour are the walls in your room?White and blue.

94. Do you watch youtube? Who is your favourite youtuber?I love so many youtubers omg. Lukeisnotsexy, mileschronicles, realisticallysaying and filthy frank are faves

95. Share your favourite quote.Pick your fights.

96. What is the meaning of life?To live life to the fullest so youre happy and have minimal regrets. Also to be kind and helpful so even if you dont change the world you might help someone else to.

97. Do you like horror movies?I think….? But I’m not good at watching them alone 😂

98. Have you ever made your mum cry? What happened?Eh…again, would rather not answer (we got some nice supressed memories here)

99. Do you feel lucky or special in any way?I’m still totally in awe of how lucky I am to have met my best friend from 3000 miles away. Like, the probability of it was so so slim and yet here we are.

100. Can you keep a secret?I think so yh! It’s something that I consider super important.

Interpret how u please but know it saved my mind and soul.

SUMMARYWe have primitive speech in comparison to aliens/ superior being/s/ {Our God self]DONT FUCKING READ THIS IF U ARENT OPEN MINDED! DEADASS FUCKING SERIOUS UR GONNA MISS OUT.to become open minded you must have some form of empathy. Some form meaning you must have to have either the almost perfect understanding empathy based on your ability to place yourself in somebody elses position along with all of their past tramas, what they just fucking ate, basically whatever relevant to the situation apparent or not. I.E do I help this guy for gas hes asking the clerk hes begging he says hes got no money has to get home to his family. seems like a good dude. not making a fuss. being very nice about it. I paid for his fucking gas. Thats good energy right there. sent away and returned in ways that probably already occured but I don't reconize them as a direct result from helping. If you did what you thought was right or whatever you wanted to do actually. Which is what you're going to do anyways cause thats what you fucking decieded you wanted yourself to do. So if this doesn't hit you like it hits most people and myself included. Then just close the book and call me insane. If being insane is living content in my beliefs and my tommorow during the today but with passion for the future. then im fucking insane. Because thats what my program has done for me Truly search for good and if it isn't what you want to spend your time trying to help or doesnt concern you. You weren't meant to be concerened by it and thats okay because it will concern someone else at the right time. etc considered and making a choice based off of critical information secured from a display of empathy. If you cant show empathy practice please fucking practice before you continue reading. Actually idgaf you do you. Your life do what you desire.Speech is used to manifest things into reality of time. Typically faster if done consistently. Tested and proved. By many. My barber for example. little over 7 months ago living in a 1 bed room dumb girlfriend cat and hes cutting hair in his kitchen. The entire time throughout the year  hes telling me about this house hes getting his own very first house brand fucking new completely taylored to him. He told me saying Lep yeah my mom is helping me buy a house and get my career moving finally. After long periods of being told to basically fuck off his mom basically has a change of heart randomly. Hes got a 3 bedroom house. A barber room with checkered floot. 3 tvs niceass fucking interior furniture hes painting the house and has done many renovations over the last few months of him having this house. Just returning there earlier tonight actually I had walked in and had to check if he changed the paint in his front room again! Truly He doesn't even realize it completely. Hes almost so dumb hes smart. in a sense that being happy is being smart. He isn't stupid tho. My barber is on some of the same shit I am. Some. thats a different story tho. The point is he talked to me everytime he cut my hair for 6 month. Not just me I know for certain. He would talk motherfuckers ears off im sure they hated it. Honestly I hadn't been enlightened at this point. I fucking hated it. OMg yeah we fucking get it bro u want checkered floors. So many motherfuckers are talking nowadays. But do they always talk the same shiteveryday? Ill say it again. Do you talk about the same thing everysingle day? Do you talk to someone every single day? I don' t even have to ask what or why you do it. You're doing it because you have the desire of the company of that person. or their opinion, Whatever they have of value or beneficially or mutually beneficially to you or both. My barber talked about all the cool shit he was gonna do with his house. Having a pit bike track in the back. making a fire bit. building a deck. Making a TV back drop out of stained wood stained nailed and cut by him and I. Painted the entire house. CHECKERED FLOORS MOTHERFUCKERS. ALL YOU HAVE TO DO is MANIFEST IT IN YOUR LIFE. The sooner you start talking about and creating this lifestyle and figuring out how you're going to do it one day at a time. Talk to the person ur nervous to talk to. If they fall in love with you. THATS FUCKING KICKASS. if he thinks u dont belong in his universe right now understand thats a huge fucking positive in your life. Now you can live in this moment in time and know in this moment in time that it isn't happening because if it isn't meant to happen yet if at all. For all you know you could meet  him in 5 years and get married have 3 kids live happily ever after. Straight the fuck up! Right now im consistently talking to a girl i had the hugest crush on but never did anything about it. WHY DIDN'T I DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT. CAUSE HOW FUCKING AWKWARD WOULD IT HAVE BEEN in minnesota when im visiiting and havent been home for christmas in 5 years that we just so happen to go get breakfest at a taveren like wtf? and its where she works serving. Top it off while we are walking in I see the sign of the place and reconize it from an instagram post that she posted and I had liked and inturn she liked my picture. whatever not important. all im trying to say is the future is 100% unpredictable in every sense. but at the same time it will be 100% guarenteed with my mindset program if applied properly. You never know tomorrow and that may scare you but what if you already had chosen what happens tomorrow long before anything existed? Do you trust your own judgement? The best part is you dont even have to trust your own judgement. YOU DONT HAVE TO DO ANYTHING YOU DONT WANT TO DO. But sometimes doing them is what you're meant to do typically for your benefit anyways, if not its a punishment, and if it isn't your benefit its somebody elses and they may or may not know that you're the direct cause. you may or may not know ever. But I believe that when we die we are enlightened and are shown the purpose to life. whether a test or a simulation. multiple tests inside one another or something uncomprehensible to myself or anyone. But thats different. What I do know is that a key to a good life Is a good mindset. Choose the mindset of I'm the shit. Cause I am, Cause I decieded I am, Im good fucking looking, People may call you a slut or whore but honestly it may be disgusting a little bit but they're probably jealous of all the hot people you've been with. Or even the fact ur getting laid. most single people hate on girls anyway. aint no boy in a nice healthy relationship talking shit on females and if he is he probably likes u and is trying to hide it. anyways besides the point. You need to develop something you say to yourself {I recommend} outloud {especially for getting started} whether written or set as an alarm for your phone ur background to your phone it could be a picture with a completely hidden message behind it. just associate something or have something that has things you know deep down in your soul you need to say to yourself. For example for me, Ive always been sensitive, still am a lot less than I was alot, But over time After being outcasted from my family at 15 being legally kiddnapped, and broken down on all aspects of self with many failed although maybe not completely failed attempts at bettering myself to the way that works for normies or the purposefully chosen people to be uneducated of the power of speech. They were esentially taking me in at 15 with a metaphorical emotionally broken leg. { ie i hate myself and im a bad person i dont give a fuck and i just want to die cause i dont understand the world} that was my attitude ie the broken metaphorical leg that I came into the school but for the sake of this metaphor this hospital with. However pretend in our metaphor the break in my leg is un noticeable. if ur slow as fuck just know the broken leg is a metaphor for my fucked up thinking. The hospitol or treatment center/school I was at cant fix my leg without me telling them my leg is broken. Now they knew something is wrong or else I wouldnt be there. Many claim at that hospital upon recent arrival that there's been a mistake and they don't need to be there. many times I laughed with everyone else at group along with the director Parker. Parker I believe knows alot about this but would never share with the group for possiblities of the kids claiming they're being brain washed or told to believe such things without an adult or atleast enlightened soul and mind these practices may sound slightly lucritive. Anyway back to the story. Metaphorically I tried many times to dodge and weave around questions asked in therapy sometimes even hamming it up to seem cool because of how insecure I was. trying to seek acceptance from my therapist lmfao very dark times. Which got darker with small light at the end of the tunnel. Thats the thing about parker he never took away full hope and if he did he had a good reason for doing so. I completely trust his judgement even to this day. Lying to ur therapist or even if they think you're lying to your therapist which usually they're right. The only reason they were ever wrong with me lying was because the decision was made based on previous situations of past lies. Lied before you'll lie again? possibly. Anyway, the darkness brought upon u metaphorically and almost not was the wall/work crew. ADAYONTHEWALL In a way this is tramatic but it almost shouldnt be. It was trautic because I put myself there many times. Purposefully yes in a sense but not the living sense. I wanted to be the perfect student at Liahona. Be the leader everyone looked up to. Be the family fucking leader. But I literally just was to immature and weak in all aspects. Too much so to do any of those things. Now that I think back the beauty of it Is I did eventually get all of those things. Because I manifested them. I desired both with my words and the vibes my words created in my body that the universe recieved. My body had translated what I wrote in my daily evals every night at Liahona. I attended Liahona for 711 days. 9 Days short from 2 years. The program is 9 months long. Back to the main subject. The wall. 6 am wake the fuck up. HEADCOUUUUUNT!!!. Big ass motherfucking dude named Quando shouts it at the top of his lungs. LMFAO pretty funny to think but this guy would scare the shit out of new kids in the mornings. shouting out of their beds. I definitely woke up thats for sure. The whole facility of 50-60 boys come out of there room pretty much as fast as possible although groggily everyone dressed in the same navy blue shorts and grey liahona t-shit tucked into our gym shorts with either white black or grey solid socks. No designs or wild shit. All the rules at Liahona were created over the years it had transitioned from an old house to the facility to the newer facility. Everything from tuck in ur chair at all times to. turn off the lights when you leave a room. Hundred of rules probably around over a thousand actually. I hated it off the bat but what was I gonna do? anyway. After everyone lines up in a U- formation with quando standing in the open portion of the U. He would say the same things every morning. Almost as if he was designed to say the same or relatively the same thing. One thing was for sure the message was clear every morning. Go back to your rooms  Today is a new day its a beautiful day make your beds and start studying your quote or doing whatever you're aloud to do until you go for the morning run and breakfest. Now quado probably used a great deal more broken english being from the pacific islands one of em sorry dont actually know. anyways. we dismiss. or atleast. everybody else does. perusual here I am. I sit down in my LIFETIME costco chair sitting mere inches from the head of my twin mattress. I will now sit in this chair for the remainder of the day unless instructed or allowed otherwise. 6-7 morning shift arrives. Can't look away. I think to myself staring at the wall. The desire to look is bad but even the thought of having to write another 300 word essay although they've become easy now, pointless to get one for something so easily avoidable. putting my elbows on my knees I duck my head do as If to pretend im studying the quote (a passage of around 100 words- alot of fucking words that must be memorized in full word for word straight the fuck up and recited to either a very trusted upper level or staff member who will tell you when you mess up and must stop and either use one of 2 hints allowed by parker to figure out whatever word u forgot or fail and take a 300 word essay, However if the quote is failed to be passed off before friday then your points for that week will be cut into half basically prolonging your stay to an extent given points are used to determine not in full but definitely play a large part in even the opportunity of you being recommended to get your next level Ie the quote is very important, very difficult, and I fucking hated it so fucking much you have no idea, Fuck the fucking stupid fucking quote. Parker is smart for the fact that he knows theres got to be something that seems and may possibly be a punishment that is time consuming and benefits those who work harder and faster destroying room for socialism. Basically parker created the quote to see who the fuck is really trying and how hard. Based on when you pass off the quote, If you pass off the quote, and how long of the quote is and whats in the quote. Parker can determine your loyalty to the program and therefore your recovery) Sitting in my chair and ducking my head between my armpits I can finally look around in a small area on each side of my body without getting too ballsy. This is my entertainment for the remainder of the day. Besides playing with my hand/feet. Tapping my feet/hand. looking at the US map{ and sometimes if they put u on the other wall or farther down you got the south america map. To this day can name the south american countries for the most part in alphabetical order. Crazylol. I can do the states right now. anyways. } Eating Oats and water with 2 of the gnarliest fucking red delicious apples every fucking morning. YO WHERE DID U FIND THOSE FUCKING APPLES MARK AND WHOEVER THE FUCK SHOPPED? jesus christ. Still don't eat red delicious apples THERE NOT FUCKING delicious. liars anyway. Before that when morning shift arrives typically shortly after if not immediately after their arrival we do another headcount. Of course yelled much less.... whats the word.... manly lol. Derek had the lamest headcount call. His unenthusiastic Severous snape from harry potter like almost moan like noise. anyways fuck u derek. Derek would take us to get our shoes, at both the new and old facility there are shoe closets that contain every students single pair of running shoes. The new facility also has our never to be touched til we leave or go on a visit personal items. After getting our shoes on. We went outside. line up on the concrete basket ball court in 5 lines spanning accross the entire court each student assigned to a 'family' upon arrival in no paticular order I hope but idk. Usually it was the one with the lowest amount of students but some family leaders would try to boost by trying to speak with newer students asap and within the rules. Communication of any kind with any student not directly monitored without being directly told otherwise is strictly forbidden. No form of communication head bobs nods winks smiles smirks laughs even eye contact for long periods of time. Although of course these rules were broken many times over the course of my stay. I definitely stopped talking to kids. Literally it taught me and im kinda glad it did it taught me to not ask my peers but elder people with wisdom and knowledge for help. However in therapy groups they allow us to communicate freely with the presnence of the therapist who was 1 of two therapists. However he would quickly correct any advice given from a student to a student to not only teach us the correct way to solve whatever issue being discussed  or shared. but almost in a way indirectly teaching you that experience and age are similar but not the same and to seek those that give the best advice and help the most which tend to be the people u want anyways. I did learn many many many many useful things that I still use today from Liahona. Because of going im now 1000x ahead of an average person my age. Given my experiences and newly found and enlightened self. Given to me when I was ready to give it to myself. When I learned I control this reality with how I feel. And I tend to feel how I talk. Because my talk conveys my emotion. Talk good feel good do good deserve good. Lined up on the basketball court right my bad Im side tracked for the millionth time. gimme a break lol anyways. We line up in  5 columns of anywhere from 10 to 13 students typically ten atleast. 50 jumping jacks Go!" 1..2..3..4..5..6..7- ......49..50.  50 laps chop it up. At 8 laps a mile  50 laps was common but not that common. For awhile it was daily. All of our days depended on how all of us acted as a whole. If one person tried to run and doesnt succeed obvisouly never have never will. Everybody goes on lock down. No talking no moving everybody sits  in a circle. study a gigantic quote for that week cause homeboy tried running. or whatever the case is. Basically if you dont pull your weight somebody else has to and that weight is only their cause you are inturn now they hate u lol. Definitely was unlike for a vast majority by the vast majority however luckily in the end all works out as does all things in this universe in my world or currently my world.story sorry again 50 pushups now in unicen aswell 123-49-50 Then he tells us to go run and sometimes he'll tell u how many laps and sometimes hed tell u when you get to his standing spot at the finish line after your first lap. He does this to guage how and when certain students put in more effort. Shorter run? more harder runners? longer run? Whos putting in effort regardless of circumstance ie whats going on in ur life. Ie how many laps you got How are you moving before you know what your next move is. Are you jogging that first lap until derek tells you to save your breath cause you're banking on it being a longer run. Have you been running slow for 3 laps but the run was only 8 today so ur wasting ur time being lazy. Derek would see when you would run hard. who made u run harder cause u wanted to beat them. how many laps does it have to be minimum to run on the first lap. Whos running hard the first lap regardless of circumstance. They could tell who you were and what you could offer before you even knew anything about any of that. Because honestly you didnt give a fuck about trying before. atleast I didn't. I soon did. Over those 711 days I ran 95 percent of the week day mornings. was in niceass shape too for 17. weekends we got off thankf uckign god. After the blisters heal and you get calices on ur feet from running in the beginning being a new student it sucks alot don't get me wrong and it'll suck for awhile but you'll eventually learn to adapt and conquer by anymeans. I quit after 6 laps my first run. Not even a mile. sat down said I needed my inhaler. I didn't even have one.