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comment_bingo is a bingo challenge that is focused on using the provided prompts to comment on other people's works rather than creating your own. 
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notalwaysworking_feedRead A Good Laugh At Their Expense(s)
Back then, on arrival, it was a requirement to change 100 USD at the government exchange booth before leaving the airport. The rate was about 6 kyats to the dollar, but once in the country, one could get up to 350 per dollar on the black market. Visa cards were not accepted anywhere, and ATM machines were non-existent, requiring me to pay cash for everything.
When I returned to Singapore, I submitted an expense report based on the black market exchange rate, as I was an honest employee, even though our policy was to use the official rates the company provided each week.
notalwaysworking_feedRead Retail: After The Collapse
I've just gotten to work when a customer asks me for help finding an item. I'm a cashier, so I don't work the aisles, but I'm handy with the store app, so I'm able to pinpoint the item he wants almost immediately.
Me: "It's actually right in the next aisle over! Here, come with me." *We turn the corner.* "Ohidontfeelwell."
I promptly collapse. Thankfully, a coworker is already standing nearby.
marthawellsnotalwaysworking_feedRead Should Have Adjusted The Privacy Settings
My boss gets really mad when people don’t allow him to be as invasive as he wants. I was in my office on a call when he threw my door open.
Boss: "I have told you—"
Me: "[Boss] I—"
Boss: "No! Don’t f****** interrupt me. I have told you that I will take this god-d*** door off if you keep closing it!"
oursinDon't think I've previously either come across this or posted it, but who knows: Out on the Town: Magnus Hirschfeld and Berlin’s Third Sex: 'Years before the Weimar Republic’s well-chronicled freedoms, the 1904 non-fiction study Berlin’s Third Sex depicted an astonishingly diverse subculture of sexual outlaws in the German capital'.
***
Something else suitable for Pride Month: Rachel Carson and the Power of Queer Love (review):
provides an original and stirring account of a non-commodifying queer love between two women and nonhuman nature—a love that was the defining relationship of Carson’s life and yet has been downplayed in heteronormative tellings of her story. So, too, is Maxwell’s work a convincing argument for this queer love’s formative role in the writing of Silent Spring, as well as an empowering message about how embracing queer feelings might function as a catalyst for “political and personal power” in contemporary environmental politics.
I think I have some copies of The Pioneer journal associated with this club, but they are somewhere in the maelstrom (I am gearing up to Doing Something About this, having acquired intelligence of a body that will collect books for charity): The Pioneer Club (1892-1939): A ladies' club at the forefront of late Victorian social reform, which suffered a long, slow decline in the early 20th century.
***
Peter McLagan (1823-1900): Scotland’s first Black MP:
[S]ources suggest that McLagan’s mother was probably of Black Caribbean or Black African descent.... McLagan’s father, Peter McLagan (1774-1860)... enslaved over 400 people on his plantations and personal estate in Demerara.
***
An ancient writing system confounding myths about Africa:
'How come a country that did not have a colonial past in Zambia had so many artefacts from Zambia in its collection?'"
In the 19th and early 20th Centuries Swedish explorers, ethnographers and botanists would pay to travel on British ships to Cape Town and then make their way inland by rail and foot.
....
The Swedish museum had not done any research on the cloaks - and the National Museums Board of Zambia was not even aware they existed.
Artist's work to restore damaged shell grotto (I put this in a short story once.) (My own theory is that it was originally A Folly. Doing things with shells was as I recall quite A Thing in the C18th and Mrs Delany and her mate the Duchess of Portland had a rather less concealed shell grotto?)
smartbitches_feed
Dukes Are Forever by Anna Harrington is $1.99! This is a historical romance with what seems to be an enemies to lovers plot. It’s the first book in the Secret Life of Scoundrels series. Some readers found the heroine a bit TSTL, but others really loved the hero and his quest for revenge.
ALL’S FAIR IN LOVE
Battlefields and barrooms hold much more interest for Edward Westover, Duke of Strathmore, than a little girl’s fondness for dolls and lace. When he takes possession of his enemy’s estate, everything that villain held dear-including his daughter-belongs to Edward. Hire a governess, arrange a dowry, give a few reassurances, and be off on his way-that’s Edward’s plan. But he’s in for the shock of his life. For his new ward is a beautiful, impetuous, and utterly irresistible woman . . .
. . . AND WAR
Kate Benton is stunned. Who is this arrogant, infuriating man who’s invited himself into her home and taken over her life? Her vow: to do everything in her power to convince him to leave her-and Brambly House-alone. Yet as chilly days melt into sultry nights, Kate sees glimpses of kindness underneath Edward’s cool façade . . . and a passionate nature that takes her breath away. There’s so much she doesn’t know about this man. But does she dare trust this devilish duke with her heart?
Waiting for Tom Hanks by Kerry Winfrey is $1.99! Carrie gave this one a B-:
I was mostly charmed by the book. It was sweet but not too gooey, and I loved Annie’s through knowledge of the rom-com genre and her observation about how we can appreciate happiness all the more if we’ve also known loss.
A rom-com-obsessed romantic waiting for her perfect leading man learns that life doesn’t always go according to a script in this delightfully charming and funny novel.
Annie Cassidy dreams of being the next Nora Ephron. She spends her days writing screenplays, rewatching Sleepless in Seattle, and waiting for her movie-perfect meet-cute. If she could just find her own Tom Hanks—a man who’s sweet, sensitive, and possibly owns a houseboat—her problems would disappear and her life would be perfect. But Tom Hanks is nowhere in sight.
When a movie starts filming in her neighborhood and Annie gets a job on set, it seems like a sign. Then Annie meets the lead actor, Drew Danforth, a cocky prankster who couldn’t be less like Tom Hanks if he tried. Their meet-cute is more of a meet-fail, but soon Annie finds herself sharing some classic rom-com moments with Drew. Her Tom Hanks can’t be an actor who’s leaving town in a matter of days . . . can he?
Just as You Are by Camille Kellogg is $1.99! This is a f/f Pride & Prejudice retelling. Shana read this one and gave it a B-:
When I stopped trying to clock the ill-fitting Austen references in Just as You Are, I was able to enjoy the found family, the way the story explored gender nuances in queer dating, and an emotionally satisfying romance that kept me guessing.
The only thing worse for Liz than hating her unpleasant, standoffish new boss? Being incurably attracted to her.
Liz Baker and her three roommates work at The Nether Fields, a queer magazine in New York that’s on the verge of shutting down—until it’s bought at the last minute by two wealthy lesbians. Even though Liz is eager to leave listicles behind for more meaningful writing, she knows that she’s lucky to still have a paycheck. But it’s hard to feel grateful with minority investor Daria Fitzgerald slashing budgets, cancelling bagel Fridays, and password protecting the color printer to prevent “frivolous use.” When Liz overhears Daria scoffing at her articles, she knows that it’s only a matter of her time before her impulsive mouth tells Daria off and gets herself fired.
But as Liz and Daria get thrown together more and more, Liz starts to see a softer side to Daria—she’s funny, surprisingly helpful, and actually seems to like that Liz’s gender presentation varies between butch and femme. Even as the evidence that Liz can’t trust Daria piles up, it starts getting harder and harder to keep hating Daria—and harder and harder to resist her.
This page-turning, sexy, and delightfully funny rom-com celebrates queer culture, chosen family, coming of age, and falling in love against your better judgment.
You, with a View by Jessice Joyce is $2.99! This is the only non-KDD out of the bunch. This was previously mentioned on Hide Your Wallet. Social media and road trip elements play a large part of this romance.
Two high school enemies must reunite for a road trip inspired by their grandparents’ broken engagement in this electric debut romance.
Noelle Shepard is unemployed, living with her parents, and grieving the loss of her beloved grandmother when she discovers decades-old photos of Gram and a smitten man, tucked alongside a love letter. She creates a TikTok to search for the mystery man, which goes viral, and she’s shocked when his grandson responds—a man who happens to be her high school nemesis, Theo Spencer.
Noelle refuses to let Theo’s annoying accomplishments in adulthood—or his sexy smirk—stand in the way of meeting his grandfather and unlocking the secrets he knew about her gram as a young woman. When she learns that their plans to elope were thwarted, Noelle decides to take the honeymoon road trip they planned but never got to carry out. There’s a catch, though: Paul, Theo’s grandfather, asks to come with her, and he insists that Theo join them.
It’ll be a miracle if they make it through the trip without Noelle throwing Theo out of the moving car—or the bed they end up sharing. As the miles tick by, the tension simmers hotter between them…until she discovers that Theo’s hiding a secret that could cause their tenuous relationship to end before it can restart.
spiralsheepaskamanager_feedIt’s the Friday open thread!
The comment section on this post is open for discussion with other readers on any work-related questions that you want to talk about (that includes school). If you want an answer from me, emailing me is still your best bet*, but this is a chance to take your questions to other readers.
* If you submitted a question to me recently, please do not repost it here, as it may be in my queue to answer.
The post open thread – June 13, 2025 appeared first on Ask a Manager.
cakewrecks_feedYou're never too old to imagine your own Princess Diaries moment, right? And mine goes something a little like this:
[harpsichord dream sequence music plays]
First, there's a whirlwind romance with the dashing stranger who looks like a cross between Nathan Fillion and Kiefer Sutherland during his Three Musketeers days.
(Awww yeeeeah.)
Next, we sink straight into the Fire Swamp.
No, no, just kidding.
Next we play Mario Kart together until 2AM.
Later, after dressing up as Venkman and Staypuft for Halloween (I'm Venkman, of course), and confessing our undying love for one another, there's a painfully romantic proposal:
Performed in an inflatable kiddie pool.
"Jen," my dashing prince would say, "Will you be my own Princess Peach?"
To which I would respond, "Are you kidding? Do Vulcans need the Pon Farr?
"(But we are going to Disney for the honeymoon, right?)"
And, BAM! I'm a princess! Next thing you know, I'm living in a castle...
"And over here is your TARDIS closet. As you can see, it is much, MUCH bigger on the inside."
...and wearing pretty princess crowns...
(Modeled after crabby Space Invaders, apparently.)
...and pretty princess dresses...
("Talk about your trunk space, check this action out!")
...and riding my Princess Vespa around...
(Ok, technically this would be a Princess Harley.)
...and...and...wait. You know what? Other than the castle and crown stuff, I've already got my fairy tale ending, complete with video game playing, Princess Bride quoting, and brownie baking prince. (Love you, Sweetie.)
So I guess I'll just end here by wishing all of you:
I like the short and fluffy ones, myself.
Thanks to today's dream team Debbie B., Anony M., Lisa V., Lisa P., Julia B., Vanessa C., & Stephanie S., who, for the record, never even knew fairies *had* tails.
*****
P.S. I found something for the princess who wants to wear something old, something new, something borrowed, and something poo:
Unicorn Poop Earrings
Don't stop believing, y'all. Dreams do come true.
*****
And from my other blog, Epbot:
svgurl in dw_community_promo - Comment Bingo Round 7celli - wahsvgurl in fandomcalendar - Comment Bingo Round 7case in fandomsecrets - [ SECRET POST #6734 ]beccaelizabeth - Today's gameplay went betterpauamma in dw_volunteers - Volunteer social thread #155notalwaysworking_feed - A Good Laugh At Their Expense(s)twistedchick - New Substack postminoanmiss - I should do this more oftenminoanmiss - Help me talk to my parentsnotalwaysworking_feed - Retail: After The Collapsepurplecat - Fossil Fridaymarthawells - Murderbot Daynotalwaysworking_feed - Should Have Adjusted The Privacy Settingsjames - Day 3!oursin - Various & miscsmartbitches_feed - Mostly KDDs!spiralsheep - In which there is a priceless collection of embarrassing splurgingaskamanager_feed - open thread – June 13, 2025cakewrecks_feed - A Cinderella Story
