An Interesting Title

Flat Earth theory: the world is flat.

Very much did in the sense that I literally do not know where my job is at the moment. But, for the time being I haven't been let go because nobody else including the store owner knows where it is either.

So, I don't wanna risk doxxing myself by posting pictures but goddamn am I tempted because this is not a believable event. This is a cartoon problem. For looneytoons.

But yeah, so, I work(ed?) at a kiosk selling boba tea, right? Freestanding kiosk in the mall with full water and electrical hookups and multiple fridges and sinks and a mini kitchen and the works. Fully functional tea shop. Very important to note that it was there last night, The work chat was discussing another issue last night at closing time. I'll get back to this.

It's been showing signs of being on the way out with how business is being handled lately and I've been considering other options, which is probably why I'm not as torn up about this as I should be, but maybe it just hasn't set in yet, but that's not the point. The point is there's been a lot of shit breaking and not being replaced and nobody mentioning anything about it until I walk into work in the morning and have to figure out why shit like the fucking cash register isn't there today. So I'm kinda used to having to ask questions about big things that nobody bothered to update me on. I was out for two weeks recovering from a surgery, so I came to work this morning assuming there'd be some kind of bullshit, yeah?

So, the question I had to ask the chat this morning was:

Not a text I ever thought I'd have to send in sincerity, but there it is. Because what I found instead was a fenced off patch of discolored tiles and a few holes in the floor where my entire place of employment used to be.

And the answer? Nobody knows! It was there last night when the mall closed, and every single trace of the structure and all its contents including drink making supplies and our safe and cashbox was gone when it opened again. And when I say nobody knows, I mean everyone from last night's closers to the actual (former?) owner of the store jad no fucking clue about this until getting that text from me this morning. For once I am actually the first to know. 🎉.

So. I guess I didn't so much lose my job as had it stolen. Not by AI, but good old fashioned hands-on human beings picking it up and carrying it away somehow. All mall security would tell me was that they were instructed not to tell me anything and have us contact our management. Who also don't know anything. And later on I came across some construction workers around the gravesite of the kiosk discussing filling in the holes, asked them about it, and was told that they "weren't at liberty to say".

So, not only is my job gone in the most literal physical sense of the word, but it was taken in some kind of super secret kiosk extraction in the dead of night without any warning or witnesses and nobody is allowed to speak of it. The store owner said she was gonna figure it out 10 hours ago and still no word back.

My mother in law thinks the FBI took it.

Not any of the other stores around the state. Just the one little kiosk.

Why? Because she loves a conspiracy and is just a little bit extra.

Also because she was around for the massive crackdown on Yakuza-owned businesses in Waikiki (in her homestate) that did actually involve the FBI seizing stores (no confirmation of making kiosks cleanly disappear in the middle of the night though).

Still no word from my job on what's actually going on, but the most likely theory so far is that maybe the kiosk was on lease and got repossessed? The mystery continues

According to the owner, based on what she's been able to find out, the kiosk was not removed legally and they're starting a potentially long process of legal action. I hope she gets to sue the shit out of whoever did it but for now at least I know for sure I'm unemployed.

Really hoping for more details in terms of who/why/how, so I'll keep updating if I learn anything.

For now the summary is: An unnamed entity that is most likely mall management (on account of mall security cooperating with them) stole an entire kiosk and all the contents including money and machinery with barely a trace in the middle of the night grinch-style, with zero warning or explanation, and ensured the silence of both security and the construction crew, in an action that was definitely preplanned and illegal, and as far as I know nobody knows its whereabouts.

Enjoy the unintentionally funniest text I've ever sent in my life

Aaand a close-up:

HEY HI HELLO THIS ONE'S MY FAVORITE

“Dance of the Swallows”

Swallows are remarkable birds. We see them almost every day, which is probably why we often stop noticing them. They live close to people, building their nests under the roofs of houses, barns, schools, and kindergartens, as if trusting us with what matters most—their young.

This diptych was inspired by the swallows that have lived for years near my children’s kindergarten. They built their nests right on the children’s veranda, so close that the kids could watch tiny heads appear from the nests and little beaks open wide while waiting for their parents to bring food.

For the teachers, it was not always easy. They had to look after not only the children but also the swallow families. Young children do not always understand that baby birds should not be touched, taken from the nest, or disturbed. Sometimes the best way to help nature is simply to leave it alone.

What always amazed me was the courage of these birds. Despite the noise, movement, and dozens of children playing around them, they kept returning to their nests again and again.

In these paintings, I placed them among the branches of weeping willows. In the region where I grew up, willow trees were everywhere. They grow quickly, create beautiful shade in summer, and become especially magical when the wind moves through their long green branches. And when swallows weave through those branches, an ordinary summer day becomes something unforgettable.

Perhaps the most precious memories are made of moments just like these.

thought about this because it's so frustrating when people argue that 'dying in childbirth' is a historical sort of event that doesn't happen nowadays (false) and therefore is irrelevant to the legal status of abortion, since it's not a real danger.

except it super is, and i think a lot of people haven't noticed that this argument in addition to simply being incorrect is basically the same as when people say we don't need vaccines for deadly diseases because no one gets those now anyway.

im not a particularly touchy feely person. im not. ive seen the worst kind of things happen to people on the daily. but lemme tell you in that moment when I watched that man fumble with his twenty dollar bill trying to pay for a ten dollar meal, my heart was in pieces.

it was so demoralizing, so dehumanizing. the fact that he had the money but couldn't buy the meal. for medical residency reasons I live in city center close to the university hospitals, and like many metropolitan cities, there is a homeless epidemic. and these people often dont have card. just cash. now this older gentleman does not appear obviously homeless but he's clearly not well off. so I paid for his food.

and he tried so hard to look through his bag for money (I can hear the coins clinking) to scrape together enough change to pay me back some amount.

there was no way on earth I could accept his money. I had the means to help him. And my heart was broken for him.

I dont really know what I'm trying to say except im so sad for him. and so fucking pissed off at the increasingly digital way we handle money at food establishments. he had the money, just not the 'right kind of money'. what the hell. it should be illegal for food establishment to deny customer the right to use cash. because it is very literally a special type of class discrimination.

-ancient roman posca: water, red or white wine vinegar, honey, salt, herbs (coriander, mint, thyme)

-switchel: water, ginger, vinegar, sweetener, lemon, salt

-ayran: yogurt, water, salt, mint

-sees the reports of the heatwave in Europe-