Jasper St. James

|| Jasper || 20 || Student ||

[mackpuckerman]

Me too. I try, but my brain kind of just defaults to work.

[jasperxstjames]

I feel it’s a mindset that has been drilled into me by my parents. Work, or when I was younger, school came first, second and third; Me-time was very low on the list. 

[the-one-photographer-quinn]

jasperxstjames​:

For real, real! It works. I was as surprised as you are right now. 

I can’t believe that. I need to try out!

[jasperxstjames]

How are you going to do that? Purposely sit in a piece of gum? 

[mackpuckerman]

That’s where the scales have been for… a relatively long time. I need to do something about it, but it’s just hard.

[jasperxstjames]

I guess it comes down to setting priorities, and at this making I’m setting all the wrong ones. 

[mackpuckerman]

That it is, though it is often harder a balance to maintain than most things. Or so I’ve found.

[jasperxstjames]

You are right about that. At times it is hard to not let the scale tip into one direction, which, for me, right now is the direction of work. 

[the-one-photographer-quinn]

jasperxstjames​:

Sticking it in a freezer for at least two hours and after removing as much of the frozen gum I could I used another trick someone mentioned; peanut butter. That got rid of the rest. As you can see, there is hope for pieces of clothing that need saving from gum. 

… Shut up! Does that work?! For real?!

[jasperxstjames]

For real, real! It works. I was as surprised as you are right now. 

[mackpuckerman]

I mean, it’s everything in moderation, right? Too much or too little of anything isn’t a good thing, including both work and sleep.

[jasperxstjames]

Yes, moderation is key. 

[jasperxstjames]

Yes, moderation is key. 

[franniefabs]

I mean, I could try but the days I don’t will definitely leave me unable to listen to anything else, and I cannot do paperwork without something in the background and while white noise might help in that scenario, that would also make me sleepy which is counter productive. I’m lucky to have them. We can, but timezones and my insomnia don’t exactly balance out how I’d like.

[jasperxstjames]

And what if you have the TV on as background sound instead of white noise? Can I ask how many girlfriends you have and if they live with you and your wife? If it’s too personal, please forget I asked. I know I’m being very curious asking you this but I’m a bit intrigued as to how an open relationship such as yours works. 

[jasperxstjames]

And what if you have the TV on as background sound instead of white noise? Can I ask how many girlfriends you have and if they live with you and your wife? If it’s too personal, please forget I asked. I know I’m being very curious asking you this but I’m a bit intrigued as to how an open relationship such as yours works. 

[mackpuckerman]

Sleeping should be a hobby but I know all too well it isn’t. Most would probably call it a sign of mental illness, and they probably wouldn’t be wrong about 90% of the time. But I get you, sometimes work just makes it so hard to want to do anything besides sleep, mentally ill or not.

Hmm-mmm; they would. They even tell us that in med school. They consider sleeping too much as an early sign of depression. I say, you first have to take into consideration someone’s schedule; if it’s a busy one then there isn’t anything wrong with sleeping in from time to time. 

[jasperxstjames]

Hmm-mmm; they would. They even tell us that in med school. They consider sleeping too much as an early sign of depression. I say, you first have to take into consideration someone’s schedule; if it’s a busy one then there isn’t anything wrong with sleeping in from time to time. 

[mercedes-amara-jones]

Thanks I don't foresee that happening I broke up with my boyfriend last weekend, but I will try to keep my spirits up. I am back in NYC after all.

[jasperxstjames]

Okay, that blows. Heartbreak is never fun to go through. That's half the work, and New York can help. Maybe gather a few friends and go clubbing to get your mind of things, even if it's only for a night.

[theoneryderlynn]

jasperxstjames​:

If you say it’s worth giving it another try I’ll sit my ass down and do just that. I’ll let you know the verdict as soon as I had the time to give it another try. I loved Games of Thrones - House of the Dragon not so much. 

Well, as they say, nothing beats the OG series. I’m quite fond of House of Dragon, but I gotta admit that GoT was SO much better. Jon Snow supremacy for da win!

[jasperxstjames]

I hope the rumors of a Jon Snow spin off series are true. I’d watch it. 

[mercedes-amara-jones]

Spent the last few days locked in my room, and this song is....hauntingly beautiful but so bittersweet.

Don't know if I am going to record it, but we shall see. For those who called, I'm sorry I didn't pick up. It's been a sad few days.

[jasperxstjames]

I hope your days will be less sad soon. 

[blainexanderson]

Hey, that's not a bad thing. I'm sure you've got your own unique talents!

Thanks! It really is a dream come true, and it was more than worth the wait. And you're right about that. She's growing up way too fast, so I really try to make the most of every single second I get to spend with her.

That's awesome! And also really impressive. Both my dad and lolo are surgeons, so I heard and seen what a demanding profession it can be. See, there's that talent of yours, especially since you've already figured out your specialty.

[jasperxstjames]

Are there other characters you cannot wait to play? How was that tea party she planned for the two of you?

Lolo, as in grandfather? It can be demanding, but the rewards make up for it. I always wanted to become a pediatrician, and this is the first step in that direction. Have you always wanted to be a performer?

[franniefabs]

I’m slowly easing out of it, but my brain is probably going to make me listen to it at least once a day for a while longer. I have my girlfriends but I want my wife, unfortunately, she’s still in Scotland until the end of the month, so I have deal with texts on that front.

[jasperxstjames]

And what if you try to listen to that album every other day instead of once a day? Good to see that you have your girlfriends that could help you through this, it sucks to hear that your wife is away. Is there a way for you to FaceTime each other? There’s only so much you can convey in a text, seeing each other, even if it’s on a screen, might be better. 

[mackpuckerman]

You ever realize you don’t really have hobbies anymore because you either turned them into jobs or otherwise stopped doing them? And the ones you do have just aren’t as interesting as they used to be? Starting to think I need to start running again, if only to get my ass out of my apartment…

What kinds of hobbies do people have anyway?

[jasperxstjames]

To tell you the truth, that realization came to me not that long ago. I like to go for a jog most mornings but I find it hard to combine that hobby with how much I’ve been working lately. If sleeping in on a day off would count as a hobby I sure as hell would add that to my list.  

[jasperxstjames]

@blainexanderson replied to your post

That looks delicious!

It tasted as good as it looks. If you want the recipe, let me know and I’ll it to you. 

[jasperxstjames]

↳ INSTAGRAM: @jasperxstjames uploaded a photo:

One very proud boy made a meal. Cold summer ramen. Let's hope it tastes as good as it looks. #jasperfollowsarecipe

↳ 231 LIKES, 106 COMMENTS

[inkstainedfingersfabray]

jasperxstjames​:

Maybe there is? But if there is, it’s because my niece loves to hear stories so I had a lot of practice. Oh, that makes me wonder if you have better stories to share… let’s go with something different. 

You have no idea. And there are a few you never will, either. But I do owe you one embarrassing story, so here it is:

I was fourteen at the time, and we were holding a bake sale to raise funds for our local Library. Because I had been volunteering there for several years by that point, I was given a fair bit of responsibility, and one of those responsibilities was to keep the tables stocked up as the sale went on. 

We were about halfway through when I noticed that our cakes table was getting a little low, so I went into the back room where we had the extras stored to grab some more and wheel them back out to the table. I say wheel them, because we had a little trolley so that we wouldn’t have to make a dozen different trips through the Library every time we needed to restock, or have a bunch of people making one trip each.

This particular trolley had a wheel that was just a little bit wonky. Now, that wasn’t a problem in the Library as the floor was carpeted and level and you weren’t exactly racing down the aisle when restocking books on the shelves. And so far that day it hadn’t been much of a problem when we wheeled it outside to the tables. 

That was not the case on this trip. I had gotten a little over a half dozen cakes loaded up–I think it was eight, but it might have been nine–and I got through the Library no problem. I got out of the Library no problem. I almost got to the table no problem. You see, what had started off as a nice, sunny day had, over the course of the sale, gotten a bit windy. Nothing that we needed to shut down for, and honestly a bit of a welcome breeze since this was happening in the middle of a Louisiana summer, but a touch on the breezy side all the same. 

A gust of wind plus a wonky wheel plus a crack in the paving plus a distracted Tamsin trying to hold down her skirt equals a trolley that very suddenly swings hard to the right, a half dozen plus cakes going flying, and one me falling head over heels over the former into the pile of the latter. 

On the upside, we beat our goal for the bake sale by over five hundred dollars. On the downside, I was picking bits of cake out off my clothes and out of my hair for the rest of the day.

[jasperxstjames]

I’ll forever wonder if I did the right thing opting for a different tale then the peanut butter one. As good as the one you shared is, I’ve got this feeling that other one might have been an even better one. 

You can tell you’re an author, I loved the whole (short) story.