Rick spent a considerable amount of time LEARNING THE ROPES but still, he faced a lot of challenges that he needed to tackle to improve in his role as a newspaper reporter. All of his projects needed work and most of them were OFF THE MARK. His supervisor mentioned that his work LEAVES MUCH TO BE DESIRED. He MESSED UP several times in verifying sensitive information before publishing them. He would be late to conduct interviews that he SET UP beforehand. What also HELD him OFF was when he looked at the performance of his co-worker, Simon. Simon seemed to do an extremely phenomenal job and his missed assignments were few and far between in his job. Rick needed to PAY ATTENTION TO the fact that this profession required someone that was focused, DID things WITHOUT much help from others, and was, UP TO SPEED at reporting accurate and timely news.

He DID THE TRICK and convinced her to GO OUT with him. He was ALL FIRED UP when he finally got the chance to TAKE her OUT for their first date. It TURNED OUT that their houses were STONE’S THROW apart. They were LIVING IN the same neighborhood but they haven’t gotten the chance to meet each other before. He was waiting for this moment for so long. He was single for years, but he didn’t want to CROSS THE BRIDGE WHEN HE CAME TO IT unless he found the girl that highly be the love of his life. It was HANDS DOWN the best coincidence of his life and he wanted to get to know her even more. While they were waiting for their plates, he let her talk about herself. He was LISTENING UP to her very carefully. He was looking at her as if an angel was in front of him. He liked everything about her. He liked her smile. He liked her laugh. He liked the way she expressed herself. But also he could tell how much she was happy spending time with him. He really hoped that things would go the way he wanted them to.

A guy stood up and MOVED TOWARD the buffet to serve himself, but something happened to him on the way back to his table. He spotted a girl sitting by herself doing nothing. He felt as though someone was GRABBING him BACK while he was STEPPING FORWARD. He didn’t know what was going on. He LOOKED AROUND but he didn’t notice anyone behind him. A strange feeling came over him. He was almost SHRUGGING OFF this feeling and trying to ignore what his gut was telling him, but he could tell that there was something about this girl. He ZEROED IN and kept his eyes on her and SCOPED OUT for an hour. He HUNG IN HIS PLACE for a while, but he could FEEL a strong attraction TOWARDS her. It was not just a childish crush but it felt more like love at first sight. He also wished so badly that she could be his and that she wouldn’t just be another CASTLE IN THE SKY.

You want to SHOOT THE BREEZE with me

Counting the days to look at me

Whenever your eyes catch mine

You get TONGUE-TIED and lose your lines

You feel that you are ON THE LINE

Waiting for any sign

You WATCH me LIKE A HAWK

Listening to my footsteps and my talks

Trying to make things between us COME OFF

Wondering if this thing we have can be PULLED OFF

At this point, I’m LOST AT SEA

And you’re FEELING SORRY for me

But I really don’t need your sympathy

I’m not sure if I can afford to LET UP

And I’m begging you to set me free

Cause I can’t depend on you to FILL UP my cup

For I’m the only person that can help me

Amanda and Linda are twin sisters that HAVE HAD ENOUGH OF each other. Amanda is KIND OF a chill person, but Linda is quite the opposite. Amanda always accuses Linda that she MAKES A MOUNTAIN OUT OF A MOLEHILL. However, Linda accuses her sister that she is always indifferent and that she NEVER MINDS anything. But since both of them have a common project to deliver, things are getting even harder. Linda thinks that everything MAKES A DIFFERENCE and that their work should be ON THE DOT. That’s why she constantly BRINGS UP the presentation and asks her sister to do her part before the due date. But unfortunately, no one can PREVAIL UPON Amanda to not RUN OVER the project and present OFF THE CUFF.

A few days ago, I saw a post on Linkedin that showed a picture of a gorgeous house followed by a caption. The owner of the post was the son of a family that CLOSE UP their mortgage. The guy was describing how his father was able to own this property. He said that after his father left his home country with almost nothing and SETTLED DOWN in the US, he was DOWN AND OUT for years. He worked in restaurants, motels, and as a truck driver. But after a while, his father decided to become a real estate agent. He then learned that he needed to enroll in a real estate pre-licensing course, pass the exam and find a real estate broker. Everything took ELBOW GREASE from him before BRINGING OFF anything. It wasn’t easy to GET A HANDLE ON understanding those materials. He literally started everything FROM SCRATCH, but nothing stopped him from GOING FOR  it. Instead, he HAD HIS HEART SET ON succeeding in life. I can see how much his son LOOKS UP to his father and admires his hard work and dedication.

Mark was scared out of his wits when he heard a scream coming out from his neighbor’s house in the middle of the night. He didn’t know what to do. Should he break in the house, or call in the police station right away? But when he heard the second scream, he was going to lose his marbles. To him, it made total sense to go across the street and watch over the house while dialing up the police station so he could notify them with the details needed. Mark also thought he could give a hand to the police by surveilling the whole area and by taking notes of the parked cars and the people that were around. When the sound of sirens became louder, Mark was relieved and kicked back. God knows what happened to Mark and his neighbor later.

Oliver came from a well-off family from Oregon. His family has been running a lumber business for a very long time. William, Oliver’s father, inherited the business from his father. William put all his life into this business to keep it and make it grow. William was coming close to his retirement years, that’s why he wanted to take the back seat and let his only son, Oliver, run the business after him. He twisted Oliver’s arm to take ownership and become the CEO of the company. He tried out many ways to convince his son that him being a CEO would help him sit pretty. But John stood his ground and repeatedly expressed that he would never spend all his lifetime working in a business that he did not have any interest in. He tried his best to stay off the subject whenever it popped up because he knew that his father would not tune out and nothing would make him cave in.

It was up in the air when he last spoke to his fiance about him moving to Chicago. John would love to tie the knot this summer and move in with his future wife. But since he just started his role as Sr. Software Engineer with Verizon, he didn’t want to leave before completing his first year with them. On the other hand, even though his fiance was sitting on the fence and tried not to put pressure on him if he puts off their wedding again, things will definitely be unstable between them. She was so considerate and helpful in the past years. She has been taught that a partner is not an enemy. For that reason, she always focuses on finding a common ground that suits both of them. But as a rule of thumb, John must not take her for granted. He must at least discuss the matter with her and let her express her concerns. Not just that, he must deal with her concerns and sort things out in any way that would really satisfy his fiance's needs.

Don't we all know someone that prefers using implicit messages rather than saying it straight to your face? I sometimes wonder what their intentions are. Do they really feel shy to ask for something? Or do they enjoy waiting for us to read between the lines? Maybe they just want to feel understood without putting so much effort. Or maybe they look at it as a respectful way to express their thoughts and needs. But the ironic part is that on the inside, they would be very keen on waiting for others to get their point. They would drop hints all day long but would also ensure that their request wouldn't accidentally slip out of their mouths. They even make it more difficult by raising the bar with their loved ones over time. But also, other people use this type of communication intentionally for their own personal reasons. They are constantly accused of not speaking their minds. But the truth is that they want to keep things to themselves and keep it low-key. They believe that not everything is worth sharing and not everything needs to be so detailed and direct. Sometimes, vague ideas can be more precise and attractive than definite ones. Personally, I know that I am not smart enough but I won’t give up on understanding vague people.