Where Have All The Gay Guys Gone?

I’m in a ton of fucking trouble so I’ll get straight to the point. My name’s D’vante, and I’m a trans man. As of today (4/4) I’m estimated to be 6 weeks pregnant, so while I’ve still got some time before I start to show, there’s some huge problems with how I can go about this on top of the amount of time pressure I’m under.

NO ONE IN THIS CITY WILL DO AN ABORTION. The closest clinic is 37 miles away, the next city over. The only means of transportation I have is Greyhound (which I plan to cover myself, as it’s only $12), but in order to do this I have to skip classes for that day and pray I don’t get called into work.

“Work? So you have a job? Why can’t you pay for it?” My work is part-time and relies entirely on ratio, meaning if clients aren’t present there’s no work to be done, so I’m not going to be paid to stand around. I haven’t been able to work this entire week, meaning my normal paychecks (~300) will be HALVED by this. THE ABORTION IS QUOTED AT $675, which I don’t even make in a month even working full weeks.

And on top of all this shit, it has to remain entirely a secret. I cannot ask for help because the family member I live with, as well as my nuclear family, is very religious and firmly believe abortion is murder. And because I’m not from here, I don’t have any friends who can drive me around or pay for something this huge.

The appointment is 4/17/19, the latest I can go before I risk the pill not working due to how many weeks pregnant I will be. If you can’t donate, PLEASE REBLOG, as you’ll possibly share it with someone who CAN HELP.

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In the first image she is looking up to the left, and there is even red light throughout the picture.

In the second image, the left half of her face is in shadow, and reddish yellow light illuminates the right side of her face, neck and collarbone, where a tattoo of flying birds can be seen.

1. I put in an Annual Leave request form almost 3 weeks ago and my boss has not approved it yet

2. I went into my office today and replaced every single writing utensil with crayons in preparation for April Fools Day on Monday

3. Whilst searching for pens to remove, I found my unsigned Annual Leave form in my boss’s drawer

4. I placed my unsigned Annual Leave form in a photo frame and put in on his desk

5. The frame I used was from a photo of his kids that I deemed less important than my Leave form

6. My boss sometimes goes into the office on Saturdays to work

7.

1- “Going to sign your fucking leave form in crayon”

RUBS & MARINADES

Dry Rub for Fish—this is easy and delicious, and the cayenne gives it an awesome kick. You can also use it for chicken.

Best Steak Marinade in Existence—absolutely lives up to its name, and I say that as someone who doesn’t even like steak very much.

MEALS

Cauliflower Soup with Hazelnuts and Bacon—sinfully good, the best recipe for cauliflower soup I’ve managed to find. And I’ve been looking.

Creamy Garlic Parmesan Mushroom Chicken & Bacon—I have a lot of recipes that include the words ‘creamy’ and ‘bacon’ which is probably a problem, health-wise. On the other hand, this shit is delicious.

Seasoned Turkey Burgers—as someone who’s swapped out turkey for red meat, this recipe is a goddamn lifesaver. Extremely easy, it uses those onion soup packets you get from the grocery store. Dress it up with your favorite condiments.

BLT with Fried Tomatoes and Cilantro Mayo—literally so good, if a bit labor-intensive. Btw, you can also just fry the tomatoes and then dip them in the mayo, also delicious.

Butternut Squash, Cauliflower & Beef Shepherd’s Pie—I made this for my office, and it was gone before lunch. Even my assistant told me that it was good, and she doesn’t like anything.

Bacon & Swiss Chicken Sandwiches—you know how in the Great British Bake-Off, Tamal had that sandwich he couldn’t stop thinking about? This is that sandwich.

Bacon, Gruyere, and Butternut Squash Frittata—takes the smokiness of the gruyere and the bacon, but combines with the butternut squash to make something delicious.

Spinach Salad with Hot Bacon Dressing—aromatic and delicious.

Cajun Fried Pickles—I’ve never made the dip, but the pickles are so, so good. Whenever I’m desperate for fries, I make these instead, they’re salty, tangy and good.

Garlic Goat Cheese Dip—get yourself a nice baguette, then make this, and have yourself a phenomenal evening of cheesy, cheesy goodness. (When I’m having a dinner party, I make the cheese dip and also this balsamic vinaigrette, for contrast.)

Butternut Squash Glazed Tart—I made these for the office thanksgiving party, and the Head Lawyer Of The Whole Office herself complimented me on how delicious they were. Since she had a lot of shit to say about my draft agreement, I’m taking the win.

DESSERTS

Peach Tarts with Goat Cheese and Honey—the ultimate summer dessert, with puff pastry a perfect balance of mild cheese and the sweetness of the peaches and honey. 

Creamy Yogurt Lemon Pie—another delicious summery dessert, but infinitely easier to assemble, especially if you get a pre-made graham cracker crust.

Puff Pastry Fruit Braid—technically, the recipe calls for a berry medley. However, this concept (puff pastry with cream cheese, cut in an attractive braiding pattern) can be adapted for many uses, including more savory options.

Coconut Macaroons—I made this for our office holiday party, and one of the attorneys who handles massive estates came up to me afterwards to thank me for a delicious gluten-free dessert. So there.

Tiramisu Cupcakes—I made cupcakes AND a cake, and my coworkers and a bunch of out-of-town friends promptly demolished them. While I prefer my desserts a little less sweet, clearly a crowdpleaser.

Sugar Cookies—made these for the office holiday party, and they vanished faster than the catered dessert. So, yeah, suck it professional catering company.

Dark Chocolate Ganache Tart—so silky and rich that you can’t have more than one slice at a time. Have it with coffee.

OTHER CARBS

Best-Ever Pie Crust—so, so good. Sometimes I use bacon fat instead of shortening, which is even better.

Ciabatta—the only ciabatta recipe I’ve ever liked.

Cheesy Pesto Breadsticks—I made these for the office thanksgiving party, and got so so many compliments. People love a soft, chewy white bread flavored with pesto.

Hellos All

The Kickstarter is currently at $722 of $750 of the next goal, the same spot it’s been sitting for two days.

There is 9 days left! Please share or consider pledging even $1! Every single dollar is amazing! This is an all or nothing, that means you are only charged if the goal is reached!

Tagging a few more writerblrs from the tag list, please share! That is all I am asking for at this time! If you have a spare dollar to pledge, that’d be awesome, but really, the sharing is the important part. We have different followers and circles, so it shows it to new peeps who may be able to do a dollar themselves! If you’ve shared it before, please share it again, as it doesn’t show it to everyone every time.

Thank you all!

Jaimi

There’s 7 days left and $1,976 to go before fully funded!

Cleaning & Tidying

Make your bed in the morning. It takes seconds, and it’s worth it.

Reset to zero each morning. 

Use the UFYH 20/10 system for clearing your shit. 

Get a reed diffuser and stick it on your windowsill. 

Have a ‘drop-zone’ box where you dump anything and everything. At the beginning/end of the day, clear it out and put that shit away.

Roll your clothes, don’t fold them - or fold them vertically.

Automate your chores. Have a cleaning schedule and assign 15mins daily to do whatever cleaning tasks are set for that day. Set a timer and do it - once the timer is up, finish the task you’re on and leave it for the day. 

Fold your clothes straight out of the tumble dryer (if you use one), whilst they’re still warm. This minimises creases and eliminates the need for ironing. 

Clean your footwear regularly and you’ll feel like a champ. 

Organisation & Productivity

Learn from Eisenhower’s Importance/Urgency matrix. 

Try out the two-minute rule and the Pomodoro technique.

Use. A. Planner. (Or Google Calendar, if that’s more your thing.)

Try bullet journalling.

Keep a notebook/journal/commonplace book to dump your brain contents in on the regular. 

Set morning alarms at two-minute intervals rather than five, and stick your alarm on the other side of the room. It’s brutal, but it works. 

Set three main goals each day, with one of them being your #1 priority. Don’t overload your to-do list or you’ll hit overload paralysis and procrastinate. 

If you’re in a slump, however, don’t be afraid to put things like “shower” on your to do list - that may be a big enough goal in itself, and that’s okay. 

Have a physical inbox - a tray, a folder, whatever. If you get a piece of paper, stick it in there and sort through it at the end of the week.

Consider utilising the GTD System, or a variation of it.

Try timeboxing. 

Have a morning routine, and guard that quiet time ferociously. 

Save interesting-looking shit to instapaper. Have a set time where you read through the stuff you saved to instapaper and save the shit that you like from instapaper to evernote (or bookmark it properly). 

During your working hours, put on your footwear, even if you’re sat on your bed. (Why?)

Have a folder for all your important documents and letters, organised by topic (e.g. medical, bank, university, work, identification). At the front of this folder, have a sheet of paper with all the key information written on it, such as your GP’s details, your passport details, driving licence details, bank account number, insurance number(s), and so on. 

Try using StayFocusd and RescueTime (or similar apps/extensions). (I promise, you’ll find that you’re not as busy as you think you are.)

Schedule working time and down time alike, in the balance that works for you. 

Money

Have. A. God. Damn. Budget. 

Use a money tracker like toshl, mint, or splitwise. Enter all expenses asap! (You will forget, otherwise.)

Have a ‘money date’ each week, where you sort through your finances from the past seven days and then add it to a spreadsheet. This will help you identify your spending patterns and whether your budget is actually working or not. 

Pack your own frickin’ lunch like a grown-up and stop buying so many takeaway coffees. Keep snacks in your bag. 

Go to your bank and take out £100 in £1 coins (or w/e your currency is). That shit will come in useful for all kinds of things and you’ll never be short on change for the bus or the laundry. 

Food & Cooking

Know how to cook the basics: a starch, a protein, a vegetable, and a sauce.

Simple, one-pot meals (“a grain, a green, and a bean”) are a godsend. 

Dried porcini mushrooms make a fantastic stock to cook with. 

Batch cook and freeze. Make your own ‘microwave meals’. 

Buy dried goods to save money - rice and beans are a pittance. (Remember to soak dried beans first, though!) 

Consider Meatless Mondays; it’s healthier, cheaper, and more environmentally friendly.

Learn which fruits and vegetables are cheapest at your store, and build a standard weekly menu around those. (Also remember that frozen vegetables are cheap and healthy.) 

Learn seasoning combinations. Different seasoning, even with the exact same ingredients, can make a dish seem completely new. 

Don’t buy shit for a one-off recipe, especially if you won’t use it all. If you really want to try out a recipe, see if a friend would be interested in making it with you, then pool for the expenses. 

Make your own goddamned pasta sauce. Jamie Oliver has a decent recipe here, but the beauty of tomato sauce is that you can totally wing it and adapt the fuck out of it. 

Misc

Have a stock email-writing format. 

Want to start running, but find it boring? Try Zombies, Run!. 

Keep a goddamn first aid kit and learn how to use it. 

Know your OTC pain relief. 

Update your CV regularly. 

Keep a selection of stamps and standard envelopes for unexpected posting needs. (It happens more regularly than you would think!) 

Some final words of advice:

Organisation is not a goal in itself, it is a tool. Don’t get caught up in the illusion of productivity and get distracted from the actual task at hand. 

Routines and habits will help you. Trust in them.

The Time Traveler’s Society

The nose of the magic school bus is visible. On top of the hood stands Link from Legend of Zelda in his green uniform. 

In front of the hood is Ms. Frizzle from the Magic School Bus, wearing a blue full-skirted dress with planets on the skirt. 

Beside the bus is the TARDIS from Doctor Who, and in front of it stands the Doctor, wearing a brown suit jacket, a white shirt, black pants, and a red bow tie. He is clutching his head with one hand, and holding a glowing sonic screwdriver with the other.

 Next to him is Hermione from Harry Potter, with bushy brown hair, wearing the black robes, white collared shirt, red and gold necktie and red skirt that serve as a Hogwarts uniform. She is holding a book under one arm.

Behind her is the front end of the DeLorean from Back to the Future, and Doc Brown is standing on the hood. He is a wearing a white lab coat and has flyaway white hair, and is holding a jumper cable in one hand. 

In front of him is Mary Poppins, wearing a black overcoat and hat with a red and orange striped scarf. In one hand she holds a carpetbag, and in the other a black umbrella.

Behind Mary Poppins is Lord English from Homestuck, shaped like a green Egyptian sarcophagus.