It Was A Bit Surprising How Popular The Place Already Seemed To Be Getting--though Not A Bad Surprise

TASK #10: GET BOLD

WHERE DO THEY FIT IN

financial / class status: wealthy | middle class | poor

grew up: wealthy | middle class | poor

health / wellness: fit/healthy | moderate | disabled | ill

education: below high school | high school | college | beyond (master's)

legalities: clean record | has a record | trouble / prison

town status: local | new in town (since May 2023) | somewhere in between

lives: downtown | suburbs | coast | countryside

FAMILY LIFE

parents: alive | deceased | unknown

came to be: blood | adopted | other

siblings: multiple siblings | one sibling | only child

extended family: large (aunts, uncles, cousins) | small | none

children: none | has children | wants children

relationship status: single | complicated | taken

if taken: dating | relationship | engaged | married

if single: looking | not looking | whatever happens

pets: no pets | has pets | wants pets

PERSONALITY STUFF

extroverted | introverted | somewhere in between

organized | disorganized | somewhere in between

close minded | open minded | somewhere in between

calm | anxious | somewhere in between

easy to get along with | not so much | somewhere in between

cautious | reckless | somewhere in between

patient | impatient | somewhere in between

outspoken | reserved | somewhere in between

leader | follower | somewhere in between

empathetic | careless | somewhere in between

optimistic | pessimistic | somewhere in between

traditional | modern | somewhere in between

hard-working | lazy | somewhere in between

cultured | uncultured | somewhere in between

BELIEFS AND IDEALS

are they: religious (sort of) | agnostic | atheist

do they believe in ghosts / spirits: yes | no | unsure

the afterlife: yes | no | unsure

reincarnation: yes | no | unsure

aliens: yes | no | unsure

astrology: yes | no | unsure

fate: yes | no | unsure

SEX, ROMANCE & RELATIONSHIPS

sexuality scale: allosexual | in between | asexual | other

romantic scale: allromantic | in between | aromantic | other

experience: virgin | very little | moderate | experienced

number of partners: 0 | 1-5 | 5-10 | 10-25 | 25+

number of relationships: 0 | 1-5 | 10-25 | 25+

preferred partners: men | women | any gender | other | none

relationships: monogamous | polyamorous | other | none

with others: relationship person | casual sex (though less so now) | other | none

in bed: traditional sex | adventurous (potentially with the right person, she'd need to feel safe) | kinks/fetishes | other

ABILITIES AND SKILLS

cooking: good | in between | bad

cleaning: good | in between | bad

musical ability: good | in between | bad

artistic skills: good | in between | bad

driving: good | in between | bad

athleticism: good | in between | bad

swimming: good | in between | bad

horseback riding: good | in between | bad

fishing / hunting: good | in between | bad

gardening: good | in between | bad

communication: good | in between | bad

handiness: good | in between | bad

handwriting: good | in between | bad

technology: good | in between | bad

HABITS, GOOD & BAD

alcohol: excess | frequently | average | infrequently | never

smoking: excess | frequently | average | infrequently | never

pot/weed: excess | frequently | average | infrequently | never (now but tried it before)

drugs: excess | frequently | average | infrequently | never

shopping: excess | frequently | average | infrequently | never

gambling: excess | frequently | average | infrequently | never

sex: excess | frequently | average | infrequently | never

"You're welcome," she replied with a warm smile, enjoying the glimpses she got into the joy of others. "Do you have any weird cravings? Things you're sending your boyfriend out for at all hours?"

"Exactly," she said as Alice understood the concept perfectly. "No one has to explain why they do or don't want, they can just enjoy the experience." Then she laughed and added, "and no fake IDs needed." How many kids would benefit from not dipping their toes into vices well before they should? She wasn't under the delusion it would stop that completely, but maybe it would help. "My favorite depends on my mood, the strawberry basil went I'm looking for refreshing, the lavender lemonade when it's been a long day, the Galaxy when I'm feeling fun...it's sort of like picking a favorite child. Can't seem to do it."

“You’re so sweet, thank you!” Alice gushed. She was blushing a bit. “I feel pretty good, actually. I’m happy that things have gone smoothly, and aside from the swollen ankles and being hungry all the time, I really am happy!”

She nodded. “You’re welcome, and I’m always happy to help!” Alice said with a smile. “It’s a nice concept,” she said, and sipped her drink as she listened to Leyla. “That’s a good way of thinking,” she told her. “And people choose to drink or not to drink for different reasons. So it opens up opportunities for more people to have that kind of experience. “Or if someone is under 21, and they want to have a fancy night out, right? Give them fun atmosphere and some good mocktails and they’ll feel right at home,” she hummed. She knew when she was younger she could use a place like this instead of trying to sneak into bars with her friends. Some nights they didn’t even drink, they just wanted to have fun. “Do you have a favorite item on the menu or is that a secret?” She grinned.

Oh, I hate the paperwork! I like the math part, actually, but the paperwork still feels like mountains. The inventory, food cost, payroll, taxes, oh my! I don't know how to shut it off, honestly, I feel like I'm basically working 24/7. I probably do need to outsource some of it. I can't stop thinking about it, I feel like I'm in love all over again.

So my least favorite part of owning my own business is all the paperwork that comes with it. I don’t know why people will willingly voluntarily do math in their free time, but I’m really glad that I’ve got software to help me with all that. And then a family friend to make sure everything is good and dandy. Do you have this problem too? @leyla-tehrani

"We have the best intentions, don't we?" She agreed with a giggle. "Keep things exciting." She wasn't sure if that sounded pathetic or not because that was true. She read way more than she actually went out for things, even if she was sure her roommates were planning on changing that. "Are you going to be camping tonight?"

"That's about my whole bookshelf," she said with a laugh and a grin. "It's good to have something light as a palate cleanser, or to just keep the genres in a good variety rotation."

"Great," she said excitedly, looking forward to the opportunity this would provide her business. "I can do that, and then once you give it a listen, we can set up a more formal meeting to work out all the details," she offered, before with a small smile, adding, "so you can enjoy the rest of your visit sans business." She beamed, rather proud of her drinks despite not being much of a non-alcoholic mixologist before deciding on the business idea. She was largely self-taught, and she liked to see good feedback to her products.

"I can make that work.." he thought over options in his mind, "maybe but together a playlist, send it over, I can put something together." Sure, they would have to discuss details, contracts and the like but overall, he was in. As Leyla set the fight of drinks down in front of him, Alec took a moment to inspect each of the drink as he debated which to try first. He picked up the watermelon lime to start, taking a sip to taste, then another. "Mmm.. not bad," he nodded.

WHERE THE CRAWDADS SING (2022) dir. Olivia Newman

"It truly is," she agreed, "I've never been in a town so small that everyone does things like this and knows everyone else, it's an experience." She found it beautiful, even if she couldn't imagine what that had to feel like to grow up here. It seemed a little magical. As he confirmed that was him, she smiled brightly, "very happy. It's great, a dream. The coast here is beautiful, and I couldn't have imagined a better place to put my bar. You should stop by, a mocktail on me for all your firm's help."

"That's the wild part, isn't it?" he laughed, shaking his head, "not just that everyone spends time together at these events, but that they genuinely enjoy doing it, like seeing each other, hanging out." And they didn't get tired of one another, that was perhaps the most miraculous part of all. "Very nice to meet you, Leyla," he smiled, giving her hand a warm, firm shake before letting his head fall to a tilt when she mentioned the firm. "Yes, that's me. And aha! So you're -- hopefully -- a happy client of ours, then. How is the space working out for you?"

"Yeah, there's usually some good in every experience," Leyla regurgitated some therapist's advice, though she was still working on that as a consistent mindset. "I met some really great people while I was there," she admitted. Nodding, she said, "if I spend too much time with my parents, I do." She was actually enjoying having this conversation with someone who also had the experience of not being born in America. It was so different sometimes. "Do you ever miss it?" Then again, with the business he owned, he could probably go home whenever he wanted. A quick and easy jump on a plane. Smiling, she agreed, "go us. Does it ever start feeling real? Or do you still sometimes wake up thinking 'there's no way this business is mine'?"

"Then that's all that matters, is that you found something enjoyable out of the whole experience," he knew not to push past that, understanding that family could be a tricky subject, especially when discussing with a stranger at a beach party. But discovering more about where you came from and your history was never a bad thing, either, that was for sure. "Do you ever find yourself thinking in one language over another?" he aksed curiously. "It took me a long time to realize I had started thinking in English, since I grew up speaking Italian and then Spanish," and then moved to the States and everything changed. "It's beautiful," he smied, a wistful expression. Rafael got to visit 'home' every now and then, but it was still a dream when the opportunity arose and he loved every moment of it. "I have," he nodded thoughtfully. "And now you have, too. Go us, right?"

Leyla did her best to make this a warm place, one of the reasons she chose a spot close to the coast. It created an atmosphere, almost like a vacation in the middle of the day. Though maybe for the locals, it was more mundane by now. As she looked at her latest customer, she could see a bit of a glow--and maybe a bump? Though Leyla would never make assumptions.

"Good choice," she agreed. Most bars added so little alcohol to their cocktails that it was hard to tell the difference when that part was missing. A good flavor speaks for itself. "My first regular," she joked, "maybe I can get your name and train the bar to call it out every time you come in like Norm on Cheers--if you ever saw that show."

Mawk Tales felt like the perfect spot for Alice to spend her afternoon. Nonalcoholic drinks for the pregnant wine lover? She could enjoy some of that. She eyed the menu and licked over her lips. Everything looked good, but when she heard the word ‘strawberry’ she knew that’s where she had to start.

“I do enjoy a good fruity drink,” she said with a nod. “I’ll try the strawberry one,” she gave a smile. “You know, I’ll probably be here quite often, trying something new.”