Tiff

Awakening the Devil Within by Tiffani Chin “Hey, baby.” Michael looked up at the familiar voice, so beautiful and deep, music to his ears for the last four weeks. Now it sounded dangerous, predatory, hungry. His eyes filled with realization; horror crept into his stomach. He swallowed hard and coughed abruptly, choking due to lack of saliva. He broke eye contact and looked at who was in front of him, feeling paralyzed. Michael knew he should run, but he couldn’t get himself to mo

Terry is heading down a dangerous path. Lawrence makes a decision to help his friend at any cost. His idea is brilliant, but he forgets one thing: nothing ever goes according to plan.

Good Intentions, My Friend by Tiffani Chin “You promised it would be alright!” Terry pounded on Lawrence’s chest. “You promised me!” Lawrence wrapped his arms around Terry’s slender body in an effort to calm his friend down down. His efforts were futile. “I did not promise that,” Lawrence whispered softly. Terry sobbed, his knees buckling. If it were not for Lawrence’s arms around him, he would have collapsed on the ground. “You made me do it and you said it would be OK

“Mommy?” Utah swung his head around in shock at the loud entrance the woman made into his room. His crayon fell from his fingers. His mother appeared agitated, anxious, strands of hair falling out of her ponytail, her eyes darting nervously. She wrung her hands together as she walked over. “Come on, baby, let’s go.” “Go where?” he asked frowning. She grabbed his arms and pulled him into a standing position. “We don’t have much time.” Her voice was hushed and she slurred her words

Ever since he was six, Utah never stopped living in the past, never stopped waiting. The past is the only safe place, the only constant fact of life. The future is unknown, the present is unbearable, so he clings to all that he knows and remembers, even if it consumes him to the point of destruction.

Hahahaha, that is the best story ever! I wonder about my family too, but it's never quite as funny as yours! And I briefly met your Aunt, she seemed perfectly normal... Appearances, hmmm?

I started my first full time job three weeks ago. And it's such an adjustment. I went from college life of commuting, skipping classes, goofing off, to bumming around for a year, also goofing off....to sitting in an office 9-5, dealing with bitchy employees who like to play tattletale and teacher's pet...GAHHHHH, and seriously the day just crawls by! In reality, it's not so bad. I spend most days surfing the net, and this past week, I didn't do anything since the nurse and research director --my direct bosses--weren't in for the most part. There's not much I can do without their approval. But the best day was Friday. Payday and free skin treatment. Only one doctor was in the office, so everyone ran around, listening to music, getting free skin treatment. I got some as well. I'm going to see about getting a chemical peel and Fraxel laser next time, woohoo. What could cost hundreds in cosmetic procedures will be free for me. Maybe it's best I hang onto this job for a bit... Nonetheless, it's hard succumbing to this daily routine. Weekends pass by entirely too fast (I spend it all by cleaning the house, buying groceries, and cooking in hopes my Mom will be encouraged to eat--she's depressed and nervous about upcoming chemo), and by the time I get home from work, I make dinner, eat it, watch TV, and shower, before hopping into bed around 10-11. I have no life. I miss youth. I miss college. I should have appreciated it more, tried more things, lived life a bit more. Anyone else share those regrets? Like you don't realize how good life could potentially be, until you passed that phase/period of your life? I think about that a lot, even though I try not to. It's not healthy to wonder what could have been, because I can only go forward. I wish I could win the lottery. Or land some crazy, high paying job/gig where I can bum out and make thousands or millions. Ah, to dream, right? But working for the Man, and being the Man's bitch, it ain't easy. He steals a lot from my paychecks every two weeks to the point I'm considering getting a second job on the weekends and evenings. I'd really like to have more money saved up so I can visit my sister more often or meet up with her when she travels. It's lonely without her in the house, even if she's happier in Cali, starting her own life, developing her own roots there. On a different note, I have some ideas for new stories or possible anthologies. I can doodle on a notebook at work and create some plots and characters just for fun and see where it leads me. If anyone at work asks, I'll just say I'm stimulating my creativity. Wonder if that would work, as long as I looked genuine and innocent enough. Cheers--tomorrow is another day doing the Man's dirty work. P.S. I bought candy today for Halloween. A lot of little kids in my neighborhood and they're so young and cute. Last year I went to the Halloween parade and as I was leaving, a couple kids came up to me, but I didn't have any since I wasn't planning on being home at all. You should have seen their faces. They looked crushed. I felt like a monster

Thank Steve! This actually helps a lot. I spent most of time reading the reviews for the Escort Passport. Most were good, but the amount of reviews and information were just overwhelming, hence I came here to ask some questions. There are pros and cons for sure, but nothing is perfect. If I can have a little help--especially on those highway/parkway driving like you mentioned--I'll take it. I saw about 6 in total on the parkway today and I was a little nervous, but kept pace with all the other cars. You're really lucky that you got warnings instead of tickets. I don't think the cops here are that generous, least for a moving violation, whether they chase your down for a mile or not. And no one cares about the tickets so much as the insurance points. Four points stays on for several years and having to pay that increased total every year is the kicker. Thanks again!

In terms of perceiving accents and deciding whether we like the sound of it, how else does it work besides generalizing? It's not like we'd know any better because it's an entirely different concept of sounds. Irish accents are nice. If it's really heavy, hard to understand, but that's probably the same for anyone who listens to a person with an accent/from a different state, country, etc.

Hahaha, don't mind me. I have my own obsession and love of Germans and all things Germans. Australian kind of grates me, some kind of whiny thing from the back of the throat. Although maybe it was just the actress who put a bad spin on the accent in my mind because when I heard an Australian guy speak briefly on the news, he sounded pretty hot. You find Indian accents hot? I never did. Maybe from various areas, but if it's strong, very "jingly" for lack of a better word and I get so distracted by it, I can't understand it. Asian accents are a bit much. I hear Korean and Chinese ones a lot, not fun. Japanese, marginally better.

New York, New York, New York! lol. I really want to go back to Vegas. All my friends are in grad school and working, and it's not a place I can go alone. I've never been to Boston actually. I really want to go, but just need to find some people for a mini road trip. I get bored on my own. Saving for Vegas is a must, but I doubt a get together would be for a whole week. Not everyone can secure that time off and money either. Probably a few days? And don't succumb to the gift shops! Lol, you can avoid them!

You mean no pockets at all? Well I always like pockets in the front, in case I wanted to put something in there right away. I like back pockets because it slims the ass, lol. It's different for girls; if we don't have pockets, we almost always have a purse to chuck things in. For guys, they usually don't carry man purses, but if they did, it would solve the issue.

German isn't on the list! I love German accents, but accents in generally are hot, because it's something unique and different. French always sounds so sexy in its slow drawling nature. English always makes someone sound pretty intelligent. I was never a fan of Southern accents, but it can have that sweet Southern charm feel. I like some NYC accents. Staten Island is pretty cool. So is Brooklyn. Has a bit of a rough sound to it.

I never thought of Montreal. I went there when I was much younger with the family and I don't remember it. I think it would be a good place to go and experience. As for the passport thing, well anyone from Canada or other countries also need a passpord to get to the US cities. I think most people have passports and if not, they're not hard to get. Plus, it's the best form of ID. Of course Mike, you're my partner in crime! Vegas as hotel and air packages and if you share a room with someone, even cheaper. They have great restaurants/buffets places for everyone to join in and like Mike said, the older crowd can hit the nightlife a bit. And everyone can see a show, regardless of age, although those are generally expensive. Late summer is probably best. I always hate traveling in the winter or spring months because there's random snow or rain storms. And the schedule fits the majority of the people here--students. Plus, I won't have any time off until the summer anyhow, but for the GA folks, I'd totally take time off. Hawaii is insanely expensive. When I visited you, it was for a little over a week and we didn't even do crazy amount of things and the hotel and airfare was over a grand already. That wouldn't be a good place. Not sure anyone would want to pay an expensive ticket for a relatively short visit of approx. 3 days or so.

Thanks for all the advice. I'll check the buyers guide and keep up with the research until I'm ready to buy. I've never gone over 100 before. That was my max. And I don't think my car could handle it at all, it's an old integra. I'm with you on driving in Germany someday. That's the dream. Krista, do YOU use your boobs? lol, and you try to come off so innocent. Psh, who would buy that act? There are pros and cons. I agree with you and James; cops would give anyone a hard time if they spotted that. I'd try to stash it in the dashboard so it's not obvious. I think that's what my sister's bf does. Bleh...law enforcement. Such cat and mouse games.

You make a good point about the under 21 thing. It would be bad to exclude anyone because of their age. Vegas has a great allure to it though because of the awesome shows. I'm a fan of the cirque du soleil. I'd like to go anywhere to meet up with people from GA. It's more about the company and visiting a new place that's real exciting. You had some good suggestions, Linxe. I think the frontrunners would be California, NYC, and maybe Florida. I used to go to Florida often, but it's more about the beaches. Hawaii was fun, but expensive, especially if you want to sightsee a lot or try water activities. NYC will definitely add up for sure. But don't worry about getting mugged. It's not as dangerous as you think at all, we just get a bad rap because the news likes to report everything that goes on there. I'm in Queens and we're kind of ghetto and I never got mugged or attacked while coming home late off the trains. And if that's the meeting place, we'll be in large numbers! I'll protect you, lol.

Cell phones function as everything these days, lol. Without it, I'd have no alarm clock, no sense of time, no way to email or remember numbers, or see in the dark. I use my cell as a flashlight if I have to make a quick trip somewhere and it will be dark and no lights. Even if there are lights, I won't always turn them on. Way too bright on the eyes sometimes. But I particularly use my cell during blackouts. I can't stand pitch black darkness.

You still have to go to NYC at some point! It will be sooo fun. I agree that summer is best though, a lot of members here are in school still and some people start before Labor Day. And Labor Day could be a hectic time to travel since it's a holiday. Although I went to Cali this past Labor Day weekend and the flight was mad cheap and wasn't bad at all. I need to work more in order to accrue vacation time, but I love Vegas and hadn't been in a year or so and it's time to go back! Viva Las Vegas!

You have a good plan about this. Starting out part time is a good idea and it's never bad to have your current job as a fallback. Commission based jobs make me weary as well, because I'm one of those people that need the guaranteed stability. It's a risk, but could be a good one because there's an option to make a lot more money. Good luck with this!

You're right about both. I try not to zone out when driving, but early in the morning or when it's really cold, you can't help it at times. The beeping would definitely jolt you into paying attention once again, having your alert up. True, they can get you for one over. Thus far, in my experiences, they do give a lot of grace. Although on the parkways and such, where everyone is going 80-100, I'm not sure how they choose.

Lol, so far I've been doing that or going with the flow of traffic. Personally, I think it really depends on your luck that day. A cop could get you for five-ten over if they want. It's up to them and how much they want to give a ticket or if they need to meet a quota. I may not even buy one either. So far, just researching options is all.

LOL, fast and furious types, good phrase. Now all we need is the soundtrack from the movie! I took a defensive driving course to reduce the points or insurance. I can go again in two years, I think? It was a good class actually, taught by a really cool detective. I don't want anymore points though! I'd be willing to buy all kinds of products and hardwire it into my car, but I'm not really tech savvy.

I haven't tried Parks and Recreation yet, but I'm a huge fan of The Office. I try not to watch it live so I can do massive DVD marathons and have endless laughs from Steve Carrell's bumbling idiot act. I'm a little lost on Gossip Girl and I get tired of their "Poor little rich kid" drama. Good luck on the job hunt.

Thanks for the info! I've read info. about that and yeah, they pick up a lot of false signals. There's one model that recognizes a false and by the third or so time, it won't beep anymore. And others have the locations of cameras. There's quite a bit of those in Manhattan. A lot of times I'm trying to make the light, but gridlock is so bad that I don't always quite manage it and I see flashes and not sure which direction it came from. We get more camera and regular patrol than that intense helicopter stuff. That's like army insane, lol. I try to be aware, but there's always that one day when your eyes didn't roll in the right direction, and you're f**ked. Side streets and no cars are the absolute worst because these guys hide behind houses, trees, bushes, parked cars--you name it! I'll take the annoying noises if it will save me from the crawlers, aka cops. I already have 4 points, don't need anymore before I hit 25. I may be more aggressive and intense compared to other girls, though I never really gave it much thought. My good friend and fellow GA member, Meeko, can attest to that. I drove his car on the freeway in Hawaii and got an earful from him.

I started looking online for radar detectors because I really want to invest in one, and soon! I only got one speeding ticket last summer, but now that I commute a lot more for work, driving on major highways or other times little side streets, you never know where they may be lurking and hiding. I do try to go with the flow of traffic and stay with them, but sometimes if they have their eye on you, even if you're only going ten over the limit and someone else is going twenty, they pick you just because you were the last in the line-up. Pure luck of the draw. I'm tight on funds, have to help my parents with their finances and a recent hospital bill, so if I can save money on a ticket and those hideous insurance points, I want get something to help me. I'm sure it may not work ALL the time, but it's the safety net, peace of mind that I really want more than anything. Having said that, any suggestions? Do you guys have one yourself? Do you know someone that does? Any good brands or models that you know and like? I read up on quite a few already; the V-1, Escort Passport, Whistler, etc, but the reviews are endless and sometimes I don't know what to believe anymore. I'd much rather discuss it with someone here, perhaps you can give better and more in-depth advice or tips.