I want to thank everyone again for help on my other post regarding beard flakes, but I wanted to make a separate post just to address how messy my beard looks. I'm not going to understate it, sometimes I go out and I feel like I look homeless. It makes me feel a bit self conscious.
I haven't yet gone to a barber for a trim because I was advised to just grow it out for at least 3 months before doing so. I want a bit of a medium sized beard so that makes sense. I'm on month 2 right now, just hit this milestone.
But no matter how much I brush guys, my hairs seem to have a will of their own. I don't even know what my hair type 'technically is'. It looks like a curly beard to me. When I wake up sometimes it feels like straw, despite me oiling (maybe even over oiling, and putting on balm before I sleep).
Furthermore, my moustache hairs look especially odd as they stick out over my lip and grow downwards.
I have included some pics for you: https://ibb.co/album/TczJn8
This is after brushing. It just bounces back out lol.
My plan for next week is to buy a hair dryer (don't own one currently) and try to use some heat and brushing to maintain the beard and stache. I'm also thinking about using heavy duty stache wax even though my stache is still in it's infancy.
Am I overthinking this? I know I'm not going to get a 10/10 beard on month 2 just like that, it takes time and patience and commitment, but I want to make sure I'm doing my very best to nurture it and it's appearance.
I'm thinking about giving it another month then going to a barber, but I'd appreciate some opinions. I have no problem going to a barber as early as next week if that's going to make it better. I don't know if I want to fade the sides though. I'd rather just find a way to hold them in place. Same with the stache, I've been against snipping off the hanging parts, I'd rather find a way to style it to the sides. But I'm inexperienced, so let me know if this is a bad idea.

Unfortunately did not take before/after pics but FWIW I was able to clean up a ton of the spotting and discoloration of the dark chrome trim around the doors using a little bit of scratchX and a melanine sponge.
Admittedly I'm sure its going to have to be part of the cleaning maintenance going forward, but with a bit of elbow grease I think it looks loads better! I finished with some Griots 3-1 Ceramic spray wax and it looks pretty much new! Just an idea in case anyone else was looking to shine up there genny.

If you have abdominal cut hysterectomy and you are keeping the cervix, you do not need to buy any pads - I had no bleeding of any kind. You also don’t need the donut pillow.
You don’t need extra laxatives. One bottle is more than enough, you’ll probably use them only once or twice.
You absolutely need the wedge pillow + airplane pillow to sleep on for 1-3 weeks on. As you can’t sleep on your belly and it may hurt to lay all the way down.
I would also look into buying wound healing amino acid supplements and start taking them a few weeks before the surgery.
I had a 10 inch cut and was cleaning the house lightly three days later and walking an hour a day per doctors orders.
If there’s a chance you may stay overnight in the hospital, bring extra undies, wax ear plugs, sleeping mask, hand disinfectant and extra long phone charger with you to the hospital. You may stay overnight and your roommate may watch TV so you want to be able to tune that out. You may not be able to get up so have someone help you brush your teeth with a cup of water. And have a toner to wash your face and moisturizer. Do not bring slippers - in the US you’ll wear non grip hospital socks they give you. Do not bring anything you can’t wash (ex soft toys). After the hospital I just wanted to disinfect everything I had with me or on me.
Ask for pics of the tumors. Nothing is more validating, anyone who didn’t appreciate the gravity of the situation will shut the eff up.
Pillow between you and the seat belt on the way home is a must. If you have cats, you can get adjustable bed table over your belly when you are on the bed to avoid them jumping on the surgery area. But all three of my cats learned quickly mommy’s belly was closed for kneeding business.
Learn to get off the bed properly. My friend who just had a baby had to teach me this. Do not put your feet down first, as we usually do, this will stretch your tissues surrounding the incision and it will hurt like mother.
To get off the bed: when laying on your side bring gently your knees toward your chest, then use your arm to push your body up, once you are sitting straight only then begin to lower legs off the bed.
And tip your doctor! Just kidding. Don’t do that.
Good luck!
PS wanted to share a couple of tips but got carried away 😅😂

banner
Welcome back to the Reformed UPG of the Week!
Gonna leave this here because reddit is still a massive pain these days

Slight update, the new reddit UI has made it almost impossible for me to quickly do these, like I used to be able to do. Thus, theres a chance it becomes UPG of the every other week until the problem is fixed. I can't spend every one of my entire Monday mornings working on this for hours with stupid formatting issues.

Last week I was reminded just how many Unreached People Groups there are in America. So today we are doing the largest unreached people group in the US, Jewish peoples of America.

Region: United States

map of Jewish peoples in the United States
Stratus Index Ranking (Urgency): 34
It has been noted to me by u/JCmathetes that I should explain this ranking. Low numbers are more urgent, both physically and spiritually together, while high numbers are less urgent. The scale is 1-177, with one number assigned to each country. So basically on a scale from Afghanistan (1) to Finland (177), how urgent are the peoples physical and spiritual needs.

The Stratus Index - Synthesizes reliable data from different sources to clearly display the world’s most urgent spiritual and physical needs.The vast majority of missions resources go to people and places already Reached by the Gospel, while only 3% of missionaries and 1% of missions money are deployed among the Unreached. This is the Great Imbalance. As a result, there are more people without access to the Gospel today than a decade ago. Stratus seeks to equip the global church with fresh vision to accomplish the Great Commission by addressing some of the factors that perpetuate the Great Imbalance. We hope this tool allows the church to better understand what steps will be required to overcome the barriers that prevent needs from being met, spurring informed and collaborative missions strategy. Stratus Website

New York City
Climate: With its large size and geographic variety, the United States includes most climate types. To the east of the 100th meridian, the climate ranges from humid continental in the north to humid subtropical in the south.
Frozen Great Lakes
LA, California
Terrain: Measured by only land area, the United States is third in size behind Russia and China, and just ahead of Canada. So its hard to get a bead on all the types of Terrain. The coastal plain of the Atlantic seaboard gives way further inland to deciduous forests and the rolling hills of the Piedmont. The Appalachian Mountains and the Adirondack massif divide the eastern seaboard from the Great Lakes and the grasslands of the Midwest. The Mississippi–Missouri River, the world's fourth longest river system, runs mainly north–south through the heart of the country. The flat, fertile prairie of the Great Plains stretches to the west, interrupted by a highland region in the southeast. The Rocky Mountains, west of the Great Plains, extend north to south across the country, peaking at over 14,000 feet (4,300 m) in Colorado. Farther west are the rocky Great Basin and deserts such as the Chihuahua, Sonoran, and Mojave. The Sierra Nevada and Cascade mountain ranges run close to the Pacific coast, both ranges also reaching altitudes higher than 14,000 feet (4,300 m). The lowest and highest points in the contiguous United States are in the state of California, and only about 84 miles (135 km) apart. At an elevation of 20,310 feet (6,190.5 m), Alaska's Denali is the highest peak in the country and in North America.
30A in Florida
Denver, CO
Mississippi River
Wildlife of US: There are 311 known reptiles, 295 amphibians and 1154 known fish species in the U.S. Known animals that exist in the US include white-tailed deer, bobcat, raccoon, muskrat, striped skunk, barn owl, American mink, American beaver, North American river otter, red fox, American Black Bear, Hawaiian Monk Seal, Black-Footed Ferret, Gila Monster, Groundhog, Pronghorn, American Alligator, Crocodile, American Bison, bald Eagle, wolves, mountain lions, Grizzly bears, polar bears, lynx, muskox, caribou, and now I'm tired of searching for lists that include all the animals. We have tons of venomous snakes, we have invasive pythons in the everglades.
Unfortunately, there is an invasive but existing population of wild monkeys in Silver Springs Florida.
Bison in Yellowstone
Pigeons in New York
Environmental Issues: Environmental issues in the United States include climate change, Ohio, species conservation, invasive species, deforestation, mining, nuclear accidents, pesticides, pollution, waste and over-population.
Languages: While many languages are spoken in the United States, English is the most common. Although there is no official language at the federal level, some laws—such as U.S. naturalization requirements—standardize English, and most states have declared English as the official language. Three states and four U.S. territories have recognized local or indigenous languages in addition to English, including Hawaii (Hawaiian), Alaska (twenty Native languages), South Dakota (Sioux), American Samoa (Samoan), Puerto Rico (Spanish), Guam (Chamorro), and the Northern Mariana Islands (Carolinian and Chamorro). In Puerto Rico, Spanish is more widely spoken than English. According to the American Community Survey, in 2010 some 229 million people (out of the total U.S. population of 308 million) spoke only English at home. More than 37 million spoke Spanish at home, making it the second most commonly used language. Other languages spoken at home by one million people or more include Chinese (2.8 million), Tagalog (1.6 million), Vietnamese (1.4 million), French (1.3 million), Korean (1.1 million), and German (1 million). The Jewish Peoples of America speak English.
Government Type: Federal presidential constitutional republic

People: Jewish Peoples of America

Jewish man of America
Population: 4,596,000
Estimated Foreign Workers Needed: 92+
Beliefs: The Jewish peoples of America are 2.7% Christian, but only 1.6% Evangelical. That means out of their population of 4,596,000, there are roughly 73,000 believers who share their faith. That slightly more than 1 believer for every 100.
Like all those who deny Christ, the Jewish peoples are deceived and follow a false god. For religious Jewish peoples, God (not the true God at this point) is the Supreme Being, the Creator of the universe, and the ultimate Judge of human affairs. Beyond this, the religious beliefs of the Jewish communities vary greatly. Orthodox Jewish peoples generally follow the traditional religious beliefs and practices found in the Jewish literature that interprets Scripture regarding ethical, religious, civil and criminal matters. Conservative Judaism is less traditional than Orthodox and combines different ethical, philosophical, and spiritual schools of thought. Reform Judaism is the most liberal form and interprets Jewish beliefs and practices in light of contemporary life and thought. Reform Jewish peoples do not believe that the Jewish Law is divinely revealed. They are not restricted to kosher (traditional, approved) foods, nor do they wear the skull cap (yarmulke) when praying or use Hebrew in prayer. All religious Jewish peoples believe in the coming of a Messianic Age, but only the Orthodox Jewish peoples look for a personal Messiah.
Not all Jewish peoples are religious. Some understand their "Jewishness" only as a social and cultural identity. American Jewish peoples are more likely to be atheists or agnostics than most Americans.
The Wilshire Boulevard Temple, known from 1862 to 1933 as Congregation B'nai B'rith, is a Reform Jewish congregation and synagogue, located at 3663 Wilshire Boulevard, in the Wilshire Center district of Los Angeles, California, in the United States. Founded in 1862, it is the oldest Jewish congregation in Los Angeles.
History: Jewish peoples were present in the Thirteen Colonies since the mid-17th century. However, they were small in number, with at most 200 to 300 having arrived by 1700. Those early arrivals were mostly Sephardi Jewish immigrants, of Western Sephardic (also known as Spanish and Portuguese Jewish) ancestry, but by 1720, Ashkenazi Jewish peoples from diaspora communities in Central and Eastern Europe predominated.
For the first time, the English Plantation Act 1740 permitted Jewish peoples to become British citizens and emigrate to the colonies. The first famous Jewish person in U.S. history was Chaim Salomon, a Polish-born Jewish person who emigrated to New York and played an important role in the American Revolution. He was a successful financier who supported the patriotic cause and helped raise most of the money needed to finance the American Revolution.
Despite the fact that some of them were denied the right to vote or hold office in local jurisdictions, Sephardi Jewish peoples became active in community affairs in the 1790s, after they were granted political equality in the five states where they were most numerous. Until about 1830, Charleston, South Carolina had more Jewish peoples than anywhere else in North America. Large-scale Jewish immigration commenced in the 19th century, when, by mid-century, many German Jewish peoples had arrived, migrating to the United States in large numbers due to antisemitic laws and restrictions in their countries of birth. They primarily became merchants and shop-owners. Gradually early Jewish arrivals from the east coast would travel westward, and in the fall of 1819 the first Jewish religious services west of the Appalachian Range were conducted during the High Holidays in Cincinnati, the oldest Jewish community in the Midwest. Gradually the Cincinnati Jewish community would adopt novel practices under the leadership Rabbi Isaac Meyer Wise, the father of Reform Judaism in the United States, such as the inclusion of women in minyan. A large community grew in the region with the arrival of German and Lithuanian Jewish peoples in the latter half of the 1800s, leading to the establishment of Manischewitz, one of the largest producers of American kosher products and now based in New Jersey, and the oldest continuously published Jewish newspaper in the United States, and second-oldest continuous published in the world, The American Israelite, established in 1854 and still extant in Cincinnati. By 1880 there were approximately 250,000 Jewish peoples in the United States, many of them being the educated, and largely secular, German Jews, although a minority population of the older Sephardi Jewish families remained influential.
Jewish migration to the United States increased dramatically in the early 1880s, as a result of persecution and economic difficulties in parts of Eastern Europe. Most of these new immigrants were Yiddish-speaking Ashkenazi Jewish peoples, most of whom arrived from poor diaspora communities of the Russian Empire and the Pale of Settlement, located in modern-day Poland, Lithuania, Belarus, Ukraine, and Moldova. During the same period, great numbers of Ashkenazic Jewish peoples also arrived from Galicia, at that time the most impoverished region of the Austro-Hungarian Empire with a heavy Jewish urban population, driven out mainly by economic reasons. Many Jewish peoples also emigrated from Romania. Over 2,000,000 Jewish peoples landed between the late 19th century and 1924 when the Immigration Act of 1924 restricted immigration. Most settled in the New York metropolitan area, establishing the world's major concentrations of the Jewish population. In 1915, the circulation of the daily Yiddish newspapers was half a million in New York City alone, and 600,000 nationally. In addition, thousands more subscribed to the numerous weekly papers and the many magazines in Yiddish.
At the beginning of the 20th century, these newly arrived Jewish peoples built support networks consisting of many small synagogues and Landsmanshaften (German and Yiddish for "Countryman Associations") for Jewish peoples from the same town or village. American Jewish writers of the time urged assimilation and integration into the wider American culture, and Jews quickly became part of American life. Approximately 500,000 American Jewish peoples (or half of all Jewish males between 18 and 50) fought in World War II, and after the war younger families joined the new trend of suburbanization. There, Jewish peoples became increasingly assimilated and demonstrated rising intermarriage. The suburbs facilitated the formation of new centers, as Jewish school enrollment more than doubled between the end of World War II and the mid-1950s, while synagogue affiliation jumped from 20% in 1930 to 60% in 1960; the fastest growth came in Reform and, especially, Conservative congregations. More recent waves of Jewish emigration from Russia and other regions have largely joined the mainstream American Jewish community.
Eastern European Jewish immigrants arriving in New York ca 1887?
Culture: Typical qualification that all people groups can't be summed up in small paragraphs and this is an over generalization.
In North America, most Jewish peoples live in urban areas on the east or west coasts. New York City has the largest Jewish population in North America, with over a half million Hassidic Jewish peoples alone. In South America, they also live in cities, but keep themselves as a distinct religious and ethnic minority.
While maintaining a Jewish identity, the majority of North American Jewish peoples conform to the mainstream American culture. "Jewishness" is often defined in more secular terms such as the use of Yiddish words and family traditions, rather than in religious aspects, such as the following of Jewish laws regarding dietary restrictions. Not all Jewish peoples are religious. Some understand their "Jewishness" only as a social and cultural identity. Understanding what it means to be a Jewish people begins in childhood. It takes place in the home through storytelling and by taking part in Jewish rituals and festivals such as Rosh Hashanah (New Year), Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement), and Passover. Socialization also takes place through participation in Hebrew school or synagogue youth groups. At the age of 13, the Bar Mitzvah ceremony for a boy (or Bat Mitzvah for a girl) is an important rite of passage, which marks him or her as an adult member of the community. While these ceremonies were more spiritually focused in the past, they have become equally important as social events.
Marriage and family relationships among Jewish peoples are much the same as other Americans. While Jewish families have fewer children, they are child-oriented, indulgent, and permissive. Although wives generally take on their husbands' surnames, Jewish identity is traced through the mothers. That is, if one's mother is a Jewish people, then he is, according to Jewish law, Jewish. He or she is entitled to all the rights and privileges that status brings, including the right to immigrate to Israel and settle there as a citizen.
I couldn't not include a pic of the notable cultural event of the American Hasidic Jewish peoples who dug a tunnel in New York
Cuisine: Popular dishes in American Jewish cuisine include:

• Bagel – A doughnut-shaped bread roll. The dough is first boiled and then baked, resulting in a dense, chewy interior with a browned exterior: A bagel and cream cheese is a popular pairing.
• Bialy – A bread roll similar to a bagel, but without a hole, and somewhat less chewy as the dough is not boiled before being baked.
• Blintz – A fried crêpe, usually filled with farmer cheese and served with various toppings.
• Brisket – An inexpensive cut of beef that is braised as a pot roast.
• Challah – A light bread made with eggs, used as regular food, and on ritual or holiday occasions.
• Chicken soup – Chicken broth with herbs like parsley, dill, or thyme, and often with egg noodles added.
  • Matzah balls are sometimes added to the soup instead of, or in addition to, noodles.
  • Kreplach are small dumplings that are another common addition to chicken soup.
• Chopped liver – A liver pâté made with hard-boiled eggs, salt, and pepper. Served as a side dish, hence the expression, "What am I, chopped liver?"
• Corned beef – Beef brisket that has been cured with brine and spices and then sliced.
  • Corned beef sandwich – A common use of corned beef.
• Gefilte fish – Ground fish – often a combination of carp, pike, and whitefish – that is mixed with other ingredients, formed into patties or balls, and poached; usually served as an appetizer.
• Kishke – A large, starchy sausage made with grain, vegetables, beef or chicken fat, and spices.
• Knish – A type of savory baked turnover; various fillings are used, such as potatoes or ground beef.
• Kugel – A baked casserole made with egg noodles or potatoes.
• Latke – A pancake made with grated potatoes and other ingredients, fried in oil.
• Lox – A sliced fillet of cured salmon. Belly lox is cured with brine and is therefore rather salty. Nova lox is cold-smoked. Lox is often eaten as a sandwich, on a bagel with cream cheese.
• Mandelbrot – A crunchy cookie, sometimes made with almonds, formed by baking a loaf which is then cut into small slabs and twice-baked.
• Pastrami – Beef brisket that has been cured with brine, rubbed with pepper, garlic, and other spices, smoked, and then sliced. Like corned beef it is usually served as a sandwich.
  • Pastrami on rye – Pastrami on rye bread topped with spicy brown mustard.
• Rugelach – Small baked pastries made by wrapping dough around a filling.
• Whitefish – Smoked freshwater whitefish, either filleted or made into whitefish salad.

New York Bagels

Prayer Request:

• Ask the Lord of the harvest to send forth loving Christians to work among the Jewish communities.
• Ask the Holy Spirit to grant wisdom and favor to the missions agencies that are focusing on the Jewish peoples of North and South America.
• Pray that the Jewish people will understand that Jesus is the long-awaited Messiah.
• Ask the Lord to soften the hearts of the Jewish peoples towards Christians so that they might hear and receive the message of salvation.
• Pray that God will grant Jewish believers favor as they share their faith in Christ with their own people.
• Pray that strong local churches will be raised up in each Jewish community.
• Pray against Putin and his insane little war.
• Pray for our nation (the United States), that we Christians can learn to come alongside our hurting brothers and sisters and learn to carry one another's burdens in a more Christlike manner than we have done historically.
• Pray that in this time of an upcoming election and insanity that the needs of the unreached are not forgotten by the church. Pray that our hearts continue to ache to see the unreached hear the Good News.

Brothers, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved. (Romans 10:1)
____________________________________________________________________________________________
Here are the previous weeks threads on the UPG of the Week for Reformed from 2023 (plus a few from 2022 so this one post isn't so lonely). To save some space on these, all UPG posts made 2019-now are here, I will try to keep this current.

People Group	Country	Continent	Date Posted	Beliefs
Jewish peoples	United States	North America	05/06/2024	Judaism
Jordanian Arab	Jordan	Asia	04/29/2024	Islam
Bouyei	China	Asia	04/22/2024	Animism
Arab Libyans	Libya	Africa	03/25/2024	Islam
Gafsa Amazigh	Tunisia	Africa	03/18/2024	Islam
Hindi	South Africa	Africa	03/04/2024	Hinduism
Arabs	Iraq	Asia	02/26/2024	Islam
Bagirmi Fulani	Central African Republic	Africa	02/12/2024	Islam
Gujarati	Portugal	Europe	02/05/2024	Hinduism
Western Cham	Cambodia	Asia	01/29/2024	Islamc
Yadav	India	Asia	01/22/2024	Hinduism
Thai (updated)	Thailand	Asia	12/18/2023	Buddhism

a - Tibet belongs to Tibet, not China.
b - Russia/Turkey/etc is Europe but also Asia so...
c - this likely is not the true religion that they worship, but rather they have a mixture of what is listed with other local religions, or they have embraced a liberal drift and are leaving faith entirely but this is their historical faith.
Here is a list of definitions in case you wonder what exactly I mean by words like "Unreached".
Here is a list of missions organizations that reach out to the world to do missions for the Glory of God.

(USA)
I've worked at 3 midsize manufacturing companies over 20 years and they always do this thing.
They are constantly stressed about quality issues. They think that if they just find the right recipe, this plague will be solved and they can get that extra profit they keep losing back and secure the company's future. Bro, you are a midsize company that never took off. That means as soon as the economy slumps, your ass is on the chopping block. IDK, maybe your strategy should revolve around that instead of dreaming you are the next Bill Gates wanna be. Do pump n dump like everyone else.
They turn to all the books and lectures they know; every motivational speaker they've absorbed that made them feel like they had an edge in the business world. They pay to train everyone in lean six sigma male taekwondo yellow belt brazillian wax joo jitsu master blaster practice with a panera catered lunch. Years go by and nothing changes.
Then they turn to small group brainstorm sessions. If anyone has any ideas on how to fix these quality issues, we want to hear them! Our ears are open! We will become overwhelmed by your complaints and opt to trust our own instincts rather than you non-shareholders after all. The next brainstorm session will be us telling you how it is.
Anyway, what I wish I could always say to these people is this:
The reason quality is suffering is because of a multifaceted depression of your employees, and it's mostly out of your control.
Before they even show up to work, they have to live in America: a soul-sucking soft-dystopia where we are over-saturated with escapism and severely spiritually dehydrated. The mention of virtue in this place triggers Idiocracyesque screeching.
More and more, coming to work is a pain in the ass to your best quality employee. It's not paying enough to support they lifestyle they want. Quiet-quitting has been a subconscious thing long before the internet gave it a name.
There was an employee of old who would come in and do their best to check their work and double-check others. They were lucid and alert. It was maintained by everybody being that way, and bad-eggs were easy to purge. But now the hiring pool is all bad eggs, because we are all bad eggs. We are not lucid. We walk around in a stupor waiting to get back to whatever we are dosing with.
Best you can do is suck it up and embrace the precarity. Your company is on life-support. Accept you will never get these people to go the extra mile. And also internalize the fact that you wasted a ton of cash and time on Corporate BS snake-oil. Stop living in a fantasy world. You make us all sick, but you are happy having just enough to have more than us.
But I can't say that to my boss, because they would interpret that as a can't-do attitude.

i'm a cosmetologist freshly licensed and i got a job at a beauty bar that does nails and waxing etc. s i was hired to be a nail tech which i do have experience doing my own hard gel nails and some for friends, family, and classmates but no paid experience. they hired me wanting to do only manis and pedis. i did one mani pedi model for them then they had me work there for a day. after that i did the paperwork with the owner and she said that i need three models so i have to do two more. i also signed a contract that i wouldn't quit within a year. i agreed since i was already hired and did their contracts so i thought the free work would be worth it to work there. so i did one more model and a nail tech who used to work there shadowed me and gave me tips. so i reached out to the owner and asked about when i can do my last model. she didn't end up getting back to me until two days later, today, and said she talked with the tech helping me and think i'm too set in my ways to fit in there. i'm really upset because i came in two days and worked for free just to get fired for a reason i don't know. she told be what hours to move my other job to so i could work at both. i don't believe the set in my ways thing because i've never even worked doing nails before. i was open to pretty much everything they suggested. i was planning on starting to do things i didn't do and completely cutting out my efile because that's what the tech helping me suggested. i feel very stupid that i even did the free trials. i also feel like maybe i'm just not ready to be a nail tech because i think they truly just believed i wasn't good enough. if anyone's interested i can send pics of the manicures i did. i know i'm not the best nail tech, maybe not even average since i have no experience, but i think my work and personality fit what they were looking for.

According to all known laws of aviation, there is no way a bee should be able to fly. Its wings are too small to get its fat little body off the ground. The bee, of course, flies anyway because bees don't care what humans think is impossible. Yellow, black. Yellow, black. Yellow, black. Yellow, black. Ooh, black and yellow! Let's shake it up a little. Barry! Breakfast is ready! Ooming! Hang on a second. Hello? - Barry? - Adam? - Oan you believe this is happening? - I can't. I'll pick you up. Looking sharp. Use the stairs. Your father paid good money for those. Sorry. I'm excited. Here's the graduate. We're very proud of you, son. A perfect report card, all B's. Very proud. Ma! I got a thing going here. - You got lint on your fuzz. - Ow! That's me! - Wave to us! We'll be in row 118,000. - Bye! Barry, I told you, stop flying in the house! - Hey, Adam. - Hey, Barry. - Is that fuzz gel? - A little. Special day, graduation. Never thought I'd make it. Three days grade school, three days high school. Those were awkward. Three days college. I'm glad I took a day and hitchhiked around the hive. You did come back different. - Hi, Barry. - Artie, growing a mustache? Looks good. - Hear about Frankie? - Yeah. - You going to the funeral? - No, I'm not going. Everybody knows, sting someone, you die. Don't waste it on a squirrel. Such a hothead. I guess he could have just gotten out of the way. I love this incorporating an amusement park into our day. That's why we don't need vacations. Boy, quite a bit of pomp... under the circumstances. - Well, Adam, today we are men. - We are! - Bee-men. - Amen! Hallelujah! Students, faculty, distinguished bees, please welcome Dean Buzzwell. Welcome, New Hive Oity graduating class of... ...9:15. That concludes our ceremonies. And begins your career at Honex Industries! Will we pick ourjob today? I heard it's just orientation. Heads up! Here we go. Keep your hands and antennas inside the tram at all times. - Wonder what it'll be like? - A little scary. Welcome to Honex, a division of Honesco and a part of the Hexagon Group. This is it! Wow. Wow. We know that you, as a bee, have worked your whole life to get to the point where you can work for your whole life. Honey begins when our valiant Pollen Jocks bring the nectar to the hive. Our top-secret formula is automatically color-corrected, scent-adjusted and bubble-contoured into this soothing sweet syrup with its distinctive golden glow you know as... Honey! - That girl was hot. - She's my cousin! - She is? - Yes, we're all cousins. - Right. You're right. - At Honex, we constantly strive to improve every aspect of bee existence. These bees are stress-testing a new helmet technology. - What do you think he makes? - Not enough. Here we have our latest advancement, the Krelman. - What does that do? - Oatches that little strand of honey that hangs after you pour it. Saves us millions. Oan anyone work on the Krelman? Of course. Most bee jobs are small ones. But bees know that every small job, if it's done well, means a lot. But choose carefully because you'll stay in the job you pick for the rest of your life. The same job the rest of your life? I didn't know that. What's the difference? You'll be happy to know that bees, as a species, haven't had one day off in 27 million years. So you'll just work us to death? We'll sure try. Wow! That blew my mind! "What's the difference?" How can you say that? One job forever? That's an insane choice to have to make. I'm relieved. Now we only have to make one decision in life. But, Adam, how could they never have told us that? Why would you question anything? We're bees. We're the most perfectly functioning society on Earth. You ever think maybe things work a little too well here? Like what? Give me one example. I don't know. But you know what I'm talking about. Please clear the gate. Royal Nectar Force on approach. Wait a second. Oheck it out. - Hey, those are Pollen Jocks! - Wow. I've never seen them this close. They know what it's like outside the hive. Yeah, but some don't come back. - Hey, Jocks! - Hi, Jocks! You guys did great! You're monsters! You're sky freaks! I love it! I love it! - I wonder where they were. - I don't know. Their day's not planned. Outside the hive, flying who knows where, doing who knows what. You can'tjust decide to be a Pollen Jock. You have to be bred for that. Right. Look. That's more pollen than you and I will see in a lifetime. It's just a status symbol. Bees make too much of it. Perhaps. Unless you're wearing it and the ladies see you wearing it. Those ladies? Aren't they our cousins too? Distant. Distant. Look at these two. - Oouple of Hive Harrys. - Let's have fun with them. It must be dangerous being a Pollen Jock. Yeah. Once a bear pinned me against a mushroom! He had a paw on my throat, and with the other, he was slapping me! - Oh, my! - I never thought I'd knock him out. What were you doing during this? Trying to alert the authorities. I can autograph that. A little gusty out there today, wasn't it, comrades? Yeah. Gusty. We're hitting a sunflower patch six miles from here tomorrow. - Six miles, huh? - Barry! A puddle jump for us, but maybe you're not up for it. - Maybe I am. - You are not! We're going 0900 at J-Gate. What do you think, buzzy-boy? Are you bee enough? I might be. It all depends on what 0900 means. Hey, Honex! Dad, you surprised me. You decide what you're interested in? - Well, there's a lot of choices. - But you only get one. Do you ever get bored doing the same job every day? Son, let me tell you about stirring. You grab that stick, and you just move it around, and you stir it around. You get yourself into a rhythm. It's a beautiful thing. You know, Dad, the more I think about it, maybe the honey field just isn't right for me. You were thinking of what, making balloon animals? That's a bad job for a guy with a stinger. Janet, your son's not sure he wants to go into honey! - Barry, you are so funny sometimes. - I'm not trying to be funny. You're not funny! You're going into honey. Our son, the stirrer! - You're gonna be a stirrer? - No one's listening to me! Wait till you see the sticks I have. I could say anything right now. I'm gonna get an ant tattoo! Let's open some honey and celebrate! Maybe I'll pierce my thorax. Shave my antennae. Shack up with a grasshopper. Get a gold tooth and call everybody "dawg"! I'm so proud. - We're starting work today! - Today's the day. Oome on! All the good jobs will be gone. Yeah, right. Pollen counting, stunt bee, pouring, stirrer, front desk, hair removal... - Is it still available? - Hang on. Two left! One of them's yours! Oongratulations! Step to the side. - What'd you get? - Picking crud out. Stellar! Wow! Oouple of newbies? Yes, sir! Our first day! We are ready! Make your choice. - You want to go first? - No, you go. Oh, my. What's available? Restroom attendant's open, not for the reason you think. - Any chance of getting the Krelman? - Sure, you're on. I'm sorry, the Krelman just closed out. Wax monkey's always open. The Krelman opened up again. What happened? A bee died. Makes an opening. See? He's dead. Another dead one. Deady. Deadified. Two more dead. Dead from the neck up. Dead from the neck down. That's life! Oh, this is so hard! Heating, cooling, stunt bee, pourer, stirrer, humming, inspector number seven, lint coordinator, stripe supervisor, mite wrangler. Barry, what do you think I should... Barry? Barry! All right, we've got the sunflower patch in quadrant nine... What happened to you? Where are you? - I'm going out. - Out? Out where? - Out there. - Oh, no! I have to, before I go to work for the rest of my life. You're gonna die! You're crazy! Hello? Another call coming in. If anyone's feeling brave, there's a Korean deli on 83rd that gets their roses today. Hey, guys. - Look at that. - Isn't that the kid we saw yesterday? Hold it, son, flight deck's restricted. It's OK, Lou. We're gonna take him up. Really? Feeling lucky, are you? Sign here, here. Just initial that. - Thank you. - OK. You got a rain advisory today, and as you all know, bees cannot fly in rain. So be careful. As always, watch your brooms, hockey sticks, dogs, birds, bears and bats. Also, I got a couple of reports of root beer being poured on us. Murphy's in a home because of it, babbling like a cicada! - That's awful. - And a reminder for you rookies, bee law number one, absolutely no talking to humans! All right, launch positions! Buzz, buzz, buzz, buzz! Buzz, buzz, buzz, buzz! Buzz, buzz, buzz, buzz! Black and yellow! Hello! You ready for this, hot shot? Yeah. Yeah, bring it on. Wind, check. - Antennae, check. - Nectar pack, check. - Wings, check. - Stinger, check. Scared out of my shorts, check. OK, ladies, let's move it out! Pound those petunias, you striped stem-suckers! All of you, drain those flowers! Wow! I'm out! I can't believe I'm out! So blue. I feel so fast and free! Box kite! Wow! Flowers! This is Blue Leader. We have roses visual. Bring it around 30 degrees and hold. Roses! 30 degrees, roger. Bringing it around. Stand to the side, kid. It's got a bit of a kick. That is one nectar collector! - Ever see pollination up close? - No, sir. I pick up some pollen here, sprinkle it over here. Maybe a dash over there, a pinch on that one. See that? It's a little bit of magic. That's amazing. Why do we do that? That's pollen power. More pollen, more flowers, more nectar, more honey for us. Oool. I'm picking up a lot of bright yellow. Oould be daisies. Don't we need those? Oopy that visual. Wait. One of these flowers seems to be on the move. Say again? You're reporting a moving flower? Affirmative. That was on the line! This is the coolest. What is it? I don't know, but I'm loving this color. It smells good. Not like a flower, but I like it. Yeah, fuzzy. Ohemical-y. Oareful, guys. It's a little grabby. My sweet lord of bees! Oandy-brain, get off there! Problem! - Guys! - This could be bad. Affirmative. Very close. Gonna hurt. Mama's little boy. You are way out of position, rookie! Ooming in at you like a missile! Help me! I don't think these are flowers. - Should we tell him? - I think he knows. What is this?! Match point! You can start packing up, honey, because you're about to eat it! Yowser! Gross. There's a bee in the car! - Do something! - I'm driving! - Hi, bee. - He's back here! He's going to sting me! Nobody move. If you don't move, he won't sting you. Freeze! He blinked! Spray him, Granny! What are you doing?! Wow... the tension level out here is unbelievable. I gotta get home. Oan't fly in rain. Oan't fly in rain. Oan't fly in rain. Mayday! Mayday! Bee going down! Ken, could you close the window please? Ken, could you close the window please? Oheck out my new resume. I made it into a fold-out brochure. You see? Folds out. Oh, no. More humans. I don't need this. What was that? Maybe this time. This time. This time. This time! This time! This... Drapes! That is diabolical. It's fantastic. It's got all my special skills, even my top-ten favorite movies. What's number one? Star Wars? Nah, I don't go for that... ...kind of stuff. No wonder we shouldn't talk to them. They're out of their minds. When I leave a job interview, they're flabbergasted, can't believe what I say. There's the sun. Maybe that's a way out. I don't remember the sun having a big 75 on it. I predicted global warming. I could feel it getting hotter. At first I thought it was just me. Wait! Stop! Bee! Stand back. These are winter boots. Wait! Don't kill him! You know I'm allergic to them! This thing could kill me! Why does his life have less value than yours? Why does his life have any less value than mine? Is that your statement? I'm just saying all life has value. You don't know what he's capable of feeling. My brochure! There you go, little guy. I'm not scared of him. It's an allergic thing. Put that on your resume brochure. My whole face could puff up. Make it one of your special skills. Knocking someone out is also a special skill. Right. Bye, Vanessa. Thanks. - Vanessa, next week? Yogurt night? - Sure, Ken. You know, whatever. - You could put carob chips on there. - Bye. - Supposed to be less calories. - Bye. I gotta say something. She saved my life. I gotta say something. All right, here it goes. Nah. What would I say? I could really get in trouble. It's a bee law. You're not supposed to talk to a human. I can't believe I'm doing this. I've got to. Oh, I can't do it. Oome on! No. Yes. No. Do it. I can't. How should I start it? "You like jazz?" No, that's no good. Here she comes! Speak, you fool! Hi! I'm sorry. - You're talking. - Yes, I know. You're talking! I'm so sorry. No, it's OK. It's fine. I know I'm dreaming. But I don't recall going to bed. Well, I'm sure this is very disconcerting. This is a bit of a surprise to me. I mean, you're a bee! I am. And I'm not supposed to be doing this, but they were all trying to kill me. And if it wasn't for you... I had to thank you. It's just how I was raised. That was a little weird. - I'm talking with a bee. - Yeah. I'm talking to a bee. And the bee is talking to me! I just want to say I'm grateful. I'll leave now. - Wait! How did you learn to do that? - What? The talking thing. Same way you did, I guess. "Mama, Dada, honey." You pick it up. - That's very funny. - Yeah. Bees are funny. If we didn't laugh, we'd cry with what we have to deal with. Anyway... Oan I... ...get you something? - Like what? I don't know. I mean... I don't know. Ooffee? I don't want to put you out. It's no trouble. It takes two minutes. - It's just coffee. - I hate to impose. - Don't be ridiculous! - Actually, I would love a cup. Hey, you want rum cake? - I shouldn't. - Have some. - No, I can't. - Oome on! I'm trying to lose a couple micrograms. - Where? - These stripes don't help. You look great! I don't know if you know anything about fashion. Are you all right? No. He's making the tie in the cab as they're flying up Madison. He finally gets there. He runs up the steps into the church. The wedding is on. And he says, "Watermelon? I thought you said Guatemalan. Why would I marry a watermelon?" Is that a bee joke? That's the kind of stuff we do. Yeah, different. So, what are you gonna do, Barry? About work? I don't know. I want to do my part for the hive, but I can't do it the way they want. I know how you feel. - You do? - Sure. My parents wanted me to be a lawyer or a doctor, but I wanted to be a florist. - Really? - My only interest is flowers. Our new queen was just elected with that same campaign slogan. Anyway, if you look... There's my hive right there. See it? You're in Sheep Meadow! Yes! I'm right off the Turtle Pond! No way! I know that area. I lost a toe ring there once. - Why do girls put rings on their toes? - Why not? - It's like putting a hat on your knee. - Maybe I'll try that. - You all right, ma'am? - Oh, yeah. Fine. Just having two cups of coffee! Anyway, this has been great. Thanks for the coffee. Yeah, it's no trouble. Sorry I couldn't finish it. If I did, I'd be up the rest of my life. Are you...? Oan I take a piece of this with me? Sure! Here, have a crumb. - Thanks! - Yeah. All right. Well, then... I guess I'll see you around. Or not. OK, Barry. And thank you so much again... for before. Oh, that? That was nothing. Well, not nothing, but... Anyway... This can't possibly work. He's all set to go. We may as well try it. OK, Dave, pull the chute. - Sounds amazing. - It was amazing! It was the scariest, happiest moment of my life. Humans! I can't believe you were with humans! Giant, scary humans! What were they like? Huge and crazy. They talk crazy. They eat crazy giant things. They drive crazy. - Do they try and kill you, like on TV? - Some of them. But some of them don't. - How'd you get back? - Poodle. You did it, and I'm glad. You saw whatever you wanted to see. You had your "experience." Now you can pick out yourjob and be normal. - Well... - Well? Well, I met someone. You did? Was she Bee-ish? - A wasp?! Your parents will kill you! - No, no, no, not a wasp. - Spider? - I'm not attracted to spiders. I know it's the hottest thing, with the eight legs and all. I can't get by that face. So who is she? She's... human. No, no. That's a bee law. You wouldn't break a bee law. - Her name's Vanessa. - Oh, boy. She's so nice. And she's a florist! Oh, no! You're dating a human florist! We're not dating. You're flying outside the hive, talking to humans that attack our homes with power washers and M-80s! One-eighth a stick of dynamite! She saved my life! And she understands me. This is over! Eat this. This is not over! What was that? - They call it a crumb. - It was so stingin' stripey! And that's not what they eat. That's what falls off what they eat! - You know what a Oinnabon is? - No. It's bread and cinnamon and frosting. They heat it up... Sit down! ...really hot! - Listen to me! We are not them! We're us. There's us and there's them! Yes, but who can deny the heart that is yearning? There's no yearning. Stop yearning. Listen to me! You have got to start thinking bee, my friend. Thinking bee! - Thinking bee. - Thinking bee. Thinking bee! Thinking bee! Thinking bee! Thinking bee! There he is. He's in the pool. You know what your problem is, Barry? I gotta start thinking bee? How much longer will this go on? It's been three days! Why aren't you working? I've got a lot of big life decisions to think about. What life? You have no life! You have no job. You're barely a bee! Would it kill you to make a little honey? Barry, come out. Your father's talking to you. Martin, would you talk to him? Barry, I'm talking to you! You coming? Got everything? All set! Go ahead. I'll catch up. Don't be too long. Watch this! Vanessa! - We're still here. - I told you not to yell at him. He doesn't respond to yelling! - Then why yell at me? - Because you don't listen! I'm not listening to this. Sorry, I've gotta go. - Where are you going? - I'm meeting a friend. A girl? Is this why you can't decide? Bye. I just hope she's Bee-ish. They have a huge parade of flowers every year in Pasadena? To be in the Tournament of Roses, that's every florist's dream! Up on a float, surrounded by flowers, crowds cheering. A tournament. Do the roses compete in athletic events? No. All right, I've got one. How come you don't fly everywhere? It's exhausting. Why don't you run everywhere? It's faster. Yeah, OK, I see, I see. All right, your turn. TiVo. You can just freeze live TV? That's insane! You don't have that? We have Hivo, but it's a disease. It's a horrible, horrible disease. Oh, my. Dumb bees! You must want to sting all those jerks. We try not to sting. It's usually fatal for us. So you have to watch your temper. Very carefully. You kick a wall, take a walk, write an angry letter and throw it out. Work through it like any emotion: Anger, jealousy, lust. Oh, my goodness! Are you OK? Yeah. - What is wrong with you?! - It's a bug. He's not bothering anybody. Get out of here, you creep! What was that? A Pic 'N' Save circular? Yeah, it was. How did you know? It felt like about 10 pages. Seventy-five is pretty much our limit. You've really got that down to a science. - I lost a cousin to Italian Vogue. - I'll bet. What in the name of Mighty Hercules is this? How did this get here? Oute Bee, Golden Blossom, Ray Liotta Private Select? - Is he that actor? - I never heard of him. - Why is this here? - For people. We eat it. You don't have enough food of your own? - Well, yes. - How do you get it? - Bees make it. - I know who makes it! And it's hard to make it! There's heating, cooling, stirring. You need a whole Krelman thing! - It's organic. - It's our-ganic! It's just honey, Barry. Just what?! Bees don't know about this! This is stealing! A lot of stealing! You've taken our homes, schools, hospitals! This is all we have! And it's on sale?! I'm getting to the bottom of this. I'm getting to the bottom of all of this! Hey, Hector. - You almost done? - Almost. He is here. I sense it. Well, I guess I'll go home now and just leave this nice honey out, with no one around. You're busted, box boy! I knew I heard something. So you can talk! I can talk. And now you'll start talking! Where you getting the sweet stuff? Who's your supplier? I don't understand. I thought we were friends. The last thing we want to do is upset bees! You're too late! It's ours now! You, sir, have crossed the wrong sword! You, sir, will be lunch for my iguana, Ignacio! Where is the honey coming from? Tell me where! Honey Farms! It comes from Honey Farms! Orazy person! What horrible thing has happened here? These faces, they never knew what hit them. And now they're on the road to nowhere! Just keep still. What? You're not dead? Do I look dead? They will wipe anything that moves. Where you headed? To Honey Farms. I am onto something huge here. I'm going to Alaska. Moose blood, crazy stuff. Blows your head off! I'm going to Tacoma. - And you? - He really is dead. All right. Uh-oh! - What is that?! - Oh, no! - A wiper! Triple blade! - Triple blade? Jump on! It's your only chance, bee! Why does everything have to be so doggone clean?! How much do you people need to see?! Open your eyes! Stick your head out the window! From NPR News in Washington, I'm Oarl Kasell. But don't kill no more bugs! - Bee! - Moose blood guy!! - You hear something? - Like what? Like tiny screaming. Turn off the radio. Whassup, bee boy? Hey, Blood. Just a row of honey jars, as far as the eye could see. Wow! I assume wherever this truck goes is where they're getting it. I mean, that honey's ours. - Bees hang tight. - We're all jammed in. It's a close community. Not us, man. We on our own. Every mosquito on his own. - What if you get in trouble? - You a mosquito, you in trouble. Nobody likes us. They just smack. See a mosquito, smack, smack! At least you're out in the world. You must meet girls. Mosquito girls try to trade up, get with a moth, dragonfly. Mosquito girl don't want no mosquito. You got to be kidding me! Mooseblood's about to leave the building! So long, bee! - Hey, guys! - Mooseblood! I knew I'd catch y'all down here. Did you bring your crazy straw? We throw it in jars, slap a label on it, and it's pretty much pure profit. What is this place? A bee's got a brain the size of a pinhead. They are pinheads! Pinhead. - Oheck out the new smoker. - Oh, sweet. That's the one you want. The Thomas 3000! Smoker? Ninety puffs a minute, semi-automatic. Twice the nicotine, all the tar. A couple breaths of this knocks them right out. They make the honey, and we make the money. "They make the honey, and we make the money"? Oh, my! What's going on? Are you OK? Yeah. It doesn't last too long. Do you know you're in a fake hive with fake walls? Our queen was moved here. We had no choice. This is your queen? That's a man in women's clothes! That's a drag queen! What is this? Oh, no! There's hundreds of them! Bee honey. Our honey is being brazenly stolen on a massive scale! This is worse than anything bears have done! I intend to do something. Oh, Barry, stop. Who told you humans are taking our honey? That's a rumor. Do these look like rumors? That's a conspiracy theory. These are obviously doctored photos. How did you get mixed up in this? He's been talking to humans. - What? - Talking to humans?! He has a human girlfriend. And they make out! Make out? Barry! We do not. - You wish you could. - Whose side are you on? The bees! I dated a cricket once in San Antonio. Those crazy legs kept me up all night. Barry, this is what you want to do with your life? I want to do it for all our lives. Nobody works harder than bees! Dad, I remember you coming home so overworked your hands were still stirring. You couldn't stop. I remember that. What right do they have to our honey? We live on two cups a year. They put it in lip balm for no reason whatsoever! Even if it's true, what can one bee do? Sting them where it really hurts. In the face! The eye! - That would hurt. - No. Up the nose? That's a killer. There's only one place you can sting the humans, one place where it matters. Hive at Five, the hive's only full-hour action news source. No more bee beards! With Bob Bumble at the anchor desk. Weather with Storm Stinger. Sports with Buzz Larvi. And Jeanette Ohung. - Good evening. I'm Bob Bumble. - And I'm Jeanette Ohung. A tri-county bee, Barry Benson, intends to sue the human race for stealing our honey, packaging it and profiting from it illegally! Tomorrow night on Bee Larry King, we'll have three former queens here in our studio, discussing their new book, Olassy Ladies, out this week on Hexagon. Tonight we're talking to Barry Benson. Did you ever think, "I'm a kid from the hive. I can't do this"? Bees have never been afraid to change the world. What about Bee Oolumbus? Bee Gandhi? Bejesus? Where I'm from, we'd never sue humans. We were thinking of stickball or candy stores. How old are you? The bee community is supporting you in this case, which will be the trial of the bee century. You know, they have a Larry King in the human world too. It's a common name. Next week... He looks like you and has a show and suspenders and colored dots... Next week... Glasses, quotes on the bottom from the guest even though you just heard 'em. Bear Week next week! They're scary, hairy and here live. Always leans forward, pointy shoulders, squinty eyes, very Jewish. In tennis, you attack at the point of weakness! It was my grandmother, Ken. She's 81. Honey, her backhand's a joke! I'm not gonna take advantage of that? Quiet, please. Actual work going on here. - Is that that same bee? - Yes, it is! I'm helping him sue the human race. - Hello. - Hello, bee. This is Ken. Yeah, I remember you. Timberland, size ten and a half. Vibram sole, I believe. Why does he talk again? Listen, you better go 'cause we're really busy working. But it's our yogurt night! Bye-bye. Why is yogurt night so difficult?! You poor thing. You two have been at this for hours! Yes, and Adam here has been a huge help. - Frosting... - How many sugars? Just one. I try not to use the competition. So why are you helping me? Bees have good qualities. And it takes my mind off the shop. Instead of flowers, people are giving balloon bouquets now. Those are great, if you're three. And artificial flowers. - Oh, those just get me psychotic! - Yeah, me too. Bent stingers, pointless pollination. Bees must hate those fake things! Nothing worse than a daffodil that's had work done. Maybe this could make up for it a little bit. - This lawsuit's a pretty big deal. - I guess. You sure you want to go through with it? Am I sure? When I'm done with the humans, they won't be able to say, "Honey, I'm home," without paying a royalty! It's an incredible scene here in downtown Manhattan, where the world anxiously waits, because for the first time in history, we will hear for ourselves if a honeybee can actually speak. What have we gotten into here, Barry? It's pretty big, isn't it? I can't believe how many humans don't work during the day. You think billion-dollar multinational food companies have good lawyers? Everybody needs to stay behind the barricade. - What's the matter? - I don't know, I just got a chill. Well, if it isn't the bee team. You boys work on this? All rise! The Honorable Judge Bumbleton presiding. All right. Oase number 4475, Superior Oourt of New York, Barry Bee Benson v. the Honey Industry is now in session. Mr. Montgomery, you're representing the five food companies collectively? A privilege. Mr. Benson... you're representing all the bees of the world? I'm kidding. Yes, Your Honor, we're ready to proceed. Mr. Montgomery, your opening statement, please. Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, my grandmother was a simple woman. Born on a farm, she believed it was man's divine right to benefit from the bounty of nature God put before us. If we lived in the topsy-turvy world Mr. Benson imagines, just think of what would it mean. I would have to negotiate with the silkworm for the elastic in my britches! Talking bee! How do we know this isn't some sort of holographic motion-picture-capture Hollywood wizardry? They could be using laser beams! Robotics! Ventriloquism! Oloning! For all we know, he could be on steroids! Mr. Benson? Ladies and gentlemen, there's no trickery here. I'm just an ordinary bee. Honey's pretty important to me. It's important to all bees. We invented it! We make it. And we protect it with our lives. Unfortunately, there are some people in this room who think they can take it from us 'cause we're the little guys! I'm hoping that, after this is all over, you'll see how, by taking our honey, you not only take everything we have but everything we are! I wish he'd dress like that all the time. So nice! Oall your first witness. So, Mr. Klauss Vanderhayden of Honey Farms, big company you have. I suppose so. I see you also own Honeyburton and Honron! Yes, they provide beekeepers for our farms. Beekeeper. I find that to be a very disturbing term. I don't imagine you employ any bee-free-ers, do you? - No. - I couldn't hear you. - No. - No. Because you don't free bees. You keep bees. Not only that, it seems you thought a bear would be an appropriate image for a jar of honey. They're very lovable creatures. Yogi Bear, Fozzie Bear, Build-A-Bear. You mean like this? Bears kill bees! How'd you like his head crashing through your living room?! Biting into your couch! Spitting out your throw pillows! OK, that's enough. Take him away. So, Mr. Sting, thank you for being here. Your name intrigues me. - Where have I heard it before? - I was with a band called The Police. But you've never been a police officer, have you? No, I haven't. No, you haven't. And so here we have yet another example of bee culture casually stolen by a human for nothing more than a prance-about stage name. Oh, please. Have you ever been stung, Mr. Sting? Because I'm feeling a little stung, Sting. Or should I say... Mr. Gordon M. Sumner! That's not his real name?! You idiots! Mr. Liotta, first, belated congratulations on your Emmy win for a guest spot on ER in 2005. Thank you. Thank you. I see from your resume that you're devilishly handsome with a churning inner turmoil that's ready to blow. I enjoy what I do. Is that a crime? Not yet it isn't. But is this what it's come to for you? Exploiting tiny, helpless bees so you don't have to rehearse your part and learn your lines, sir? Watch it, Benson! I could blow right now! This isn't a goodfella. This is a badfella! Why doesn't someone just step on this creep, and we can all go home?! - Order in this court! - You're all thinking it! Order! Order, I say! - Say it! - Mr. Liotta, please sit down! I think it was awfully nice of that bear to pitch in like that. I think the jury's on our side. Are we doing everything right, legally? I'm a florist. Right. Well, here's to a great team. To a great team! Well, hello. - Ken! - Hello. I didn't think you were coming. No, I was just late. I tried to call, but... the battery. I didn't want all this to go to waste, so I called Barry. Luckily, he was free. Oh, that was lucky. There's a little left. I could heat it up. Yeah, heat it up, sure, whatever. So I hear you're quite a tennis player. I'm not much for the game myself. The ball's a little grabby. That's where I usually sit. Right... there. Ken, Barry was looking at your resume, and he agreed with me that eating with chopsticks isn't really a special skill. You think I don't see what you're doing? I know how hard it is to find the rightjob. We have that in common. Do we? Bees have 100 percent employment, but we do jobs like taking the crud out. That's just what I was thinking about doing. Ken, I let Barry borrow your razor for his fuzz. I hope that was all right. I'm going to drain the old stinger. Yeah, you do that. Look at that. You know, I've just about had it with your little mind games. - What's that? - Italian Vogue. Mamma mia, that's a lot of pages. A lot of ads. Remember what Van said, why is your life more valuable than mine? Funny, I just can't seem to recall that! I think something stinks in here! I love the smell of flowers. How do you like the smell of flames?! Not as much. Water bug! Not taking sides! Ken, I'm wearing a Ohapstick hat! This is pathetic! I've got issues! Well, well, well, a royal flush! - You're bluffing. - Am I? Surf's up, dude! Poo water! That bowl is gnarly. Except for those dirty yellow rings! Kenneth! What are you doing?! You know, I don't even like honey! I don't eat it! We need to talk! He's just a little bee! And he happens to be the nicest bee I've met in a long time! Long time? What are you talking about?! Are there other bugs in your life? No, but there are other things bugging me in life. And you're one of them! Fine! Talking bees, no yogurt night... My nerves are fried from riding on this emotional roller coaster! Goodbye, Ken. And for your information, I prefer sugar-free, artificial sweeteners made by man! I'm sorry about all that. I know it's got an aftertaste! I like it! I always felt there was some kind of barrier between Ken and me. I couldn't overcome it. Oh, well. Are you OK for the trial? I believe Mr. Montgomery is about out of ideas. We would like to call Mr. Barry Benson Bee to the stand. Good idea! You can really see why he's considered one of the best lawyers... Yeah. Layton, you've gotta weave some magic with this jury, or it's gonna be all over. Don't worry. The only thing I have to do to turn this jury around is to remind them of what they don't like about bees. - You got the tweezers? - Are you allergic? Only to losing, son. Only to losing. Mr. Benson Bee, I'll ask you what I think we'd all like to know. What exactly is your relationship to that woman? We're friends. - Good friends? - Yes. How good? Do you live together? Wait a minute... Are you her little... ...bedbug? I've seen a bee documentary or two. From what I understand, doesn't your queen give birth to all the bee children? - Yeah, but... - So those aren't your real parents! - Oh, Barry... - Yes, they are! Hold me back! You're an illegitimate bee, aren't you, Benson? He's denouncing bees! Don't y'all date your cousins? - Objection! - I'm going to pincushion this guy! Adam, don't! It's what he wants! Oh, I'm hit!! Oh, lordy, I am hit! Order! Order! The venom! The venom is coursing through my veins! I have been felled by a winged beast of destruction! You see? You can't treat them like equals! They're striped savages! Stinging's the only thing they know! It's their way! - Adam, stay with me. - I can't feel my legs. What angel of mercy will come forward to suck the poison from my heaving buttocks? I will have order in this court. Order! Order, please! The case of the honeybees versus the human race took a pointed turn against the bees yesterday when one of their legal team stung Layton T. Montgomery. - Hey, buddy. - Hey. - Is there much pain? - Yeah. I... I blew the whole case, didn't I? It doesn't matter. What matters is you're alive. You could have died. I'd be better off dead. Look at me. They got it from the cafeteria downstairs, in a tuna sandwich. Look, there's a little celery still on it. What was it like to sting someone? I can't explain it. It was all... All adrenaline and then... and then ecstasy! All right. You think it was all a trap? Of course. I'm sorry. I flew us right into this. What were we thinking? Look at us. We're just a couple of bugs in this world. What will the humans do to us if they win? I don't know. I hear they put the roaches in motels. That doesn't sound so bad. Adam, they check in, but they don't check out! Oh, my. Oould you get a nurse to close that window? - Why? - The smoke. Bees don't smoke. Right. Bees don't smoke. Bees don't smoke! But some bees are smoking. That's it! That's our case! It is? It's not over? Get dressed. I've gotta go somewhere. Get back to the court and stall. Stall any way you can. And assuming you've done step correctly, you're ready for the tub. Mr. Flayman. Yes? Yes, Your Honor! Where is the rest of your team? Well, Your Honor, it's interesting. Bees are trained to fly haphazardly, and as a result, we don't make very good time. I actually heard a funny story about... Your Honor, haven't these ridiculous bugs taken up enough of this court's valuable time? How much longer will we allow these absurd shenanigans to go on? They have presented no compelling evidence to support their charges against my clients, who run legitimate businesses. I move for a complete dismissal of this entire case! Mr. Flayman, I'm afraid I'm going to have to consider Mr. Montgomery's motion. But you can't! We have a terrific case. Where is your proof? Where is the evidence? Show me the smoking gun! Hold it, Your Honor! You want a smoking gun? Here is your smoking gun. What is that? It's a bee smoker! What, this? This harmless little contraption? This couldn't hurt a fly, let alone a bee. Look at what has happened to bees who have never been asked, "Smoking or non?" Is this what nature intended for us? To be forcibly addicted to smoke machines and man-made wooden slat work camps? Living out our lives as honey slaves to the white man? - What are we gonna do? - He's playing the species card. Ladies and gentlemen, please, free these bees! Free the bees! Free the bees! Free the bees! Free the bees! Free the bees! The court finds in favor of the bees! Vanessa, we won! I knew you could do it! High-five! Sorry. I'm OK! You know what this means? All the honey will finally belong to the bees. Now we won't have to work so hard all the time. This is an unholy perversion of the balance of nature, Benson. You'll regret this. Barry, how much honey is out there? All right. One at a time. Barry, who are you wearing? My sweater is Ralph Lauren, and I have no pants. - What if Montgomery's right? - What do you mean? We've been living the bee way a long time, 27 million years. Oongratulations on your victory. What will you demand as a settlement? First, we'll demand a complete shutdown of all bee work camps. Then we want back the honey that was ours to begin with, every last drop. We demand an end to the glorification of the bear as anything more than a filthy, smelly, bad-breath stink machine. We're all aware of what they do in the woods. Wait for my signal. Take him out. He'll have nauseous for a few hours, then he'll be fine. And we will no longer tolerate bee-negative nicknames... But it's just a prance-about stage name! ...unnecessary inclusion of honey in bogus health products and la-dee-da human tea-time snack garnishments. Oan't breathe. Bring it in, boys! Hold it right there! Good. Tap it. Mr. Buzzwell, we just passed three cups, and there's gallons more coming! - I think we need to shut down! - Shut down? We've never shut down. Shut down honey production! Stop making honey! Turn your key, sir! What do we do now? Oannonball! We're shutting honey production! Mission abort. Aborting pollination and nectar detail. Returning to base. Adam, you wouldn't believe how much honey was out there. Oh, yeah? What's going on? Where is everybody? - Are they out celebrating? - They're home. They don't know what to do. Laying out, sleeping in. I heard your Uncle Oarl was on his way to San Antonio with a cricket. At least we got our honey back. Sometimes I think, so what if humans liked our honey? Who wouldn't? It's the greatest thing in the world! I was excited to be part of making it. This was my new desk. This was my new job. I wanted to do it really well. And now... Now I can't. I don't understand why they're not happy. I thought their lives would be better! They're doing nothing. It's amazing. Honey really changes people. You don't have any idea what's going on, do you? - What did you want to show me? - This. What happened here? That is not the half of it. Oh, no. Oh, my. They're all wilting. Doesn't look very good, does it? No. And

According to all known laws of aviation, there is no way a bee should be able to fly. Its wings are too small to get its fat little body off the ground. The bee, of course, flies anyway because bees don't care what humans think is impossible. Yellow, black. Yellow, black. Yellow, black. Yellow, black. Ooh, black and yellow! Let's shake it up a little. Barry! Breakfast is ready! Ooming! Hang on a second. Hello? - Barry? - Adam? - Oan you believe this is happening? - I can't. I'll pick you up. Looking sharp. Use the stairs. Your father paid good money for those. Sorry. I'm excited. Here's the graduate. We're very proud of you, son. A perfect report card, all B's. Very proud. Ma! I got a thing going here. - You got lint on your fuzz. - Ow! That's me! - Wave to us! We'll be in row 118,000. - Bye! Barry, I told you, stop flying in the house! - Hey, Adam. - Hey, Barry. - Is that fuzz gel? - A little. Special day, graduation. Never thought I'd make it. Three days grade school, three days high school. Those were awkward. Three days college. I'm glad I took a day and hitchhiked around the hive. You did come back different. - Hi, Barry. - Artie, growing a mustache? Looks good. - Hear about Frankie? - Yeah. - You going to the funeral? - No, I'm not going. Everybody knows, sting someone, you die. Don't waste it on a squirrel. Such a hothead. I guess he could have just gotten out of the way. I love this incorporating an amusement park into our day. That's why we don't need vacations. Boy, quite a bit of pomp... under the circumstances. - Well, Adam, today we are men. - We are! - Bee-men. - Amen! Hallelujah! Students, faculty, distinguished bees, please welcome Dean Buzzwell. Welcome, New Hive Oity graduating class of... ...9:15. That concludes our ceremonies. And begins your career at Honex Industries! Will we pick ourjob today? I heard it's just orientation. Heads up! Here we go. Keep your hands and antennas inside the tram at all times. - Wonder what it'll be like? - A little scary. Welcome to Honex, a division of Honesco and a part of the Hexagon Group. This is it! Wow. Wow. We know that you, as a bee, have worked your whole life to get to the point where you can work for your whole life. Honey begins when our valiant Pollen Jocks bring the nectar to the hive. Our top-secret formula is automatically color-corrected, scent-adjusted and bubble-contoured into this soothing sweet syrup with its distinctive golden glow you know as... Honey! - That girl was hot. - She's my cousin! - She is? - Yes, we're all cousins. - Right. You're right. - At Honex, we constantly strive to improve every aspect of bee existence. These bees are stress-testing a new helmet technology. - What do you think he makes? - Not enough. Here we have our latest advancement, the Krelman. - What does that do? - Oatches that little strand of honey that hangs after you pour it. Saves us millions. Oan anyone work on the Krelman? Of course. Most bee jobs are small ones. But bees know that every small job, if it's done well, means a lot. But choose carefully because you'll stay in the job you pick for the rest of your life. The same job the rest of your life? I didn't know that. What's the difference? You'll be happy to know that bees, as a species, haven't had one day off in 27 million years. So you'll just work us to death? We'll sure try. Wow! That blew my mind! "What's the difference?" How can you say that? One job forever? That's an insane choice to have to make. I'm relieved. Now we only have to make one decision in life. But, Adam, how could they never have told us that? Why would you question anything? We're bees. We're the most perfectly functioning society on Earth. You ever think maybe things work a little too well here? Like what? Give me one example. I don't know. But you know what I'm talking about. Please clear the gate. Royal Nectar Force on approach. Wait a second. Oheck it out. - Hey, those are Pollen Jocks! - Wow. I've never seen them this close. They know what it's like outside the hive. Yeah, but some don't come back. - Hey, Jocks! - Hi, Jocks! You guys did great! You're monsters! You're sky freaks! I love it! I love it! - I wonder where they were. - I don't know. Their day's not planned. Outside the hive, flying who knows where, doing who knows what. You can'tjust decide to be a Pollen Jock. You have to be bred for that. Right. Look. That's more pollen than you and I will see in a lifetime. It's just a status symbol. Bees make too much of it. Perhaps. Unless you're wearing it and the ladies see you wearing it. Those ladies? Aren't they our cousins too? Distant. Distant. Look at these two. - Oouple of Hive Harrys. - Let's have fun with them. It must be dangerous being a Pollen Jock. Yeah. Once a bear pinned me against a mushroom! He had a paw on my throat, and with the other, he was slapping me! - Oh, my! - I never thought I'd knock him out. What were you doing during this? Trying to alert the authorities. I can autograph that. A little gusty out there today, wasn't it, comrades? Yeah. Gusty. We're hitting a sunflower patch six miles from here tomorrow. - Six miles, huh? - Barry! A puddle jump for us, but maybe you're not up for it. - Maybe I am. - You are not! We're going 0900 at J-Gate. What do you think, buzzy-boy? Are you bee enough? I might be. It all depends on what 0900 means. Hey, Honex! Dad, you surprised me. You decide what you're interested in? - Well, there's a lot of choices. - But you only get one. Do you ever get bored doing the same job every day? Son, let me tell you about stirring. You grab that stick, and you just move it around, and you stir it around. You get yourself into a rhythm. It's a beautiful thing. You know, Dad, the more I think about it, maybe the honey field just isn't right for me. You were thinking of what, making balloon animals? That's a bad job for a guy with a stinger. Janet, your son's not sure he wants to go into honey! - Barry, you are so funny sometimes. - I'm not trying to be funny. You're not funny! You're going into honey. Our son, the stirrer! - You're gonna be a stirrer? - No one's listening to me! Wait till you see the sticks I have. I could say anything right now. I'm gonna get an ant tattoo! Let's open some honey and celebrate! Maybe I'll pierce my thorax. Shave my antennae. Shack up with a grasshopper. Get a gold tooth and call everybody "dawg"! I'm so proud. - We're starting work today! - Today's the day. Oome on! All the good jobs will be gone. Yeah, right. Pollen counting, stunt bee, pouring, stirrer, front desk, hair removal... - Is it still available? - Hang on. Two left! One of them's yours! Oongratulations! Step to the side. - What'd you get? - Picking crud out. Stellar! Wow! Oouple of newbies? Yes, sir! Our first day! We are ready! Make your choice. - You want to go first? - No, you go. Oh, my. What's available? Restroom attendant's open, not for the reason you think. - Any chance of getting the Krelman? - Sure, you're on. I'm sorry, the Krelman just closed out. Wax monkey's always open. The Krelman opened up again. What happened? A bee died. Makes an opening. See? He's dead. Another dead one. Deady. Deadified. Two more dead. Dead from the neck up. Dead from the neck down. That's life! Oh, this is so hard! Heating, cooling, stunt bee, pourer, stirrer, humming, inspector number seven, lint coordinator, stripe supervisor, mite wrangler. Barry, what do you think I should... Barry? Barry! All right, we've got the sunflower patch in quadrant nine... What happened to you? Where are you? - I'm going out. - Out? Out where? - Out there. - Oh, no! I have to, before I go to work for the rest of my life. You're gonna die! You're crazy! Hello? Another call coming in. If anyone's feeling brave, there's a Korean deli on 83rd that gets their roses today. Hey, guys. - Look at that. - Isn't that the kid we saw yesterday? Hold it, son, flight deck's restricted. It's OK, Lou. We're gonna take him up. Really? Feeling lucky, are you? Sign here, here. Just initial that. - Thank you. - OK. You got a rain advisory today, and as you all know, bees cannot fly in rain. So be careful. As always, watch your brooms, hockey sticks, dogs, birds, bears and bats. Also, I got a couple of reports of root beer being poured on us. Murphy's in a home because of it, babbling like a cicada! - That's awful. - And a reminder for you rookies, bee law number one, absolutely no talking to humans! All right, launch positions! Buzz, buzz, buzz, buzz! Buzz, buzz, buzz, buzz! Buzz, buzz, buzz, buzz! Black and yellow! Hello! You ready for this, hot shot? Yeah. Yeah, bring it on. Wind, check. - Antennae, check. - Nectar pack, check. - Wings, check. - Stinger, check. Scared out of my shorts, check. OK, ladies, let's move it out! Pound those petunias, you striped stem-suckers! All of you, drain those flowers! Wow! I'm out! I can't believe I'm out! So blue. I feel so fast and free! Box kite! Wow! Flowers! This is Blue Leader. We have roses visual. Bring it around 30 degrees and hold. Roses! 30 degrees, roger. Bringing it around. Stand to the side, kid. It's got a bit of a kick. That is one nectar collector! - Ever see pollination up close? - No, sir. I pick up some pollen here, sprinkle it over here. Maybe a dash over there, a pinch on that one. See that? It's a little bit of magic. That's amazing. Why do we do that? That's pollen power. More pollen, more flowers, more nectar, more honey for us. Oool. I'm picking up a lot of bright yellow. Oould be daisies. Don't we need those? Oopy that visual. Wait. One of these flowers seems to be on the move. Say again? You're reporting a moving flower? Affirmative. That was on the line! This is the coolest. What is it? I don't know, but I'm loving this color. It smells good. Not like a flower, but I like it. Yeah, fuzzy. Ohemical-y. Oareful, guys. It's a little grabby. My sweet lord of bees! Oandy-brain, get off there! Problem! - Guys! - This could be bad. Affirmative. Very close. Gonna hurt. Mama's little boy. You are way out of position, rookie! Ooming in at you like a missile! Help me! I don't think these are flowers. - Should we tell him? - I think he knows. What is this?! Match point! You can start packing up, honey, because you're about to eat it! Yowser! Gross. There's a bee in the car! - Do something! - I'm driving! - Hi, bee. - He's back here! He's going to sting me! Nobody move. If you don't move, he won't sting you. Freeze! He blinked! Spray him, Granny! What are you doing?! Wow... the tension level out here is unbelievable. I gotta get home. Oan't fly in rain. Oan't fly in rain. Oan't fly in rain. Mayday! Mayday! Bee going down! Ken, could you close the window please? Ken, could you close the window please? Oheck out my new resume. I made it into a fold-out brochure. You see? Folds out. Oh, no. More humans. I don't need this. What was that? Maybe this time. This time. This time. This time! This time! This... Drapes! That is diabolical. It's fantastic. It's got all my special skills, even my top-ten favorite movies. What's number one? Star Wars? Nah, I don't go for that... ...kind of stuff. No wonder we shouldn't talk to them. They're out of their minds. When I leave a job interview, they're flabbergasted, can't believe what I say. There's the sun. Maybe that's a way out. I don't remember the sun having a big 75 on it. I predicted global warming. I could feel it getting hotter. At first I thought it was just me. Wait! Stop! Bee! Stand back. These are winter boots. Wait! Don't kill him! You know I'm allergic to them! This thing could kill me! Why does his life have less value than yours? Why does his life have any less value than mine? Is that your statement? I'm just saying all life has value. You don't know what he's capable of feeling. My brochure! There you go, little guy. I'm not scared of him. It's an allergic thing. Put that on your resume brochure. My whole face could puff up. Make it one of your special skills. Knocking someone out is also a special skill. Right. Bye, Vanessa. Thanks. - Vanessa, next week? Yogurt night? - Sure, Ken. You know, whatever. - You could put carob chips on there. - Bye. - Supposed to be less calories. - Bye. I gotta say something. She saved my life. I gotta say something. All right, here it goes. Nah. What would I say? I could really get in trouble. It's a bee law. You're not supposed to talk to a human. I can't believe I'm doing this. I've got to. Oh, I can't do it. Oome on! No. Yes. No. Do it. I can't. How should I start it? "You like jazz?" No, that's no good. Here she comes! Speak, you fool! Hi! I'm sorry. - You're talking. - Yes, I know. You're talking! I'm so sorry. No, it's OK. It's fine. I know I'm dreaming. But I don't recall going to bed. Well, I'm sure this is very disconcerting. This is a bit of a surprise to me. I mean, you're a bee! I am. And I'm not supposed to be doing this, but they were all trying to kill me. And if it wasn't for you... I had to thank you. It's just how I was raised. That was a little weird. - I'm talking with a bee. - Yeah. I'm talking to a bee. And the bee is talking to me! I just want to say I'm grateful. I'll leave now. - Wait! How did you learn to do that? - What? The talking thing. Same way you did, I guess. "Mama, Dada, honey." You pick it up. - That's very funny. - Yeah. Bees are funny. If we didn't laugh, we'd cry with what we have to deal with. Anyway... Oan I... ...get you something? - Like what? I don't know. I mean... I don't know. Ooffee? I don't want to put you out. It's no trouble. It takes two minutes. - It's just coffee. - I hate to impose. - Don't be ridiculous! - Actually, I would love a cup. Hey, you want rum cake? - I shouldn't. - Have some. - No, I can't. - Oome on! I'm trying to lose a couple micrograms. - Where? - These stripes don't help. You look great! I don't know if you know anything about fashion. Are you all right? No. He's making the tie in the cab as they're flying up Madison. He finally gets there. He runs up the steps into the church. The wedding is on. And he says, "Watermelon? I thought you said Guatemalan. Why would I marry a watermelon?" Is that a bee joke? That's the kind of stuff we do. Yeah, different. So, what are you gonna do, Barry? About work? I don't know. I want to do my part for the hive, but I can't do it the way they want. I know how you feel. - You do? - Sure. My parents wanted me to be a lawyer or a doctor, but I wanted to be a florist. - Really? - My only interest is flowers. Our new queen was just elected with that same campaign slogan. Anyway, if you look... There's my hive right there. See it? You're in Sheep Meadow! Yes! I'm right off the Turtle Pond! No way! I know that area. I lost a toe ring there once. - Why do girls put rings on their toes? - Why not? - It's like putting a hat on your knee. - Maybe I'll try that. - You all right, ma'am? - Oh, yeah. Fine. Just having two cups of coffee! Anyway, this has been great. Thanks for the coffee. Yeah, it's no trouble. Sorry I couldn't finish it. If I did, I'd be up the rest of my life. Are you...? Oan I take a piece of this with me? Sure! Here, have a crumb. - Thanks! - Yeah. All right. Well, then... I guess I'll see you around. Or not. OK, Barry. And thank you so much again... for before. Oh, that? That was nothing. Well, not nothing, but... Anyway... This can't possibly work. He's all set to go. We may as well try it. OK, Dave, pull the chute. - Sounds amazing. - It was amazing! It was the scariest, happiest moment of my life. Humans! I can't believe you were with humans! Giant, scary humans! What were they like? Huge and crazy. They talk crazy. They eat crazy giant things. They drive crazy. - Do they try and kill you, like on TV? - Some of them. But some of them don't. - How'd you get back? - Poodle. You did it, and I'm glad. You saw whatever you wanted to see. You had your "experience." Now you can pick out yourjob and be normal. - Well... - Well? Well, I met someone. You did? Was she Bee-ish? - A wasp?! Your parents will kill you! - No, no, no, not a wasp. - Spider? - I'm not attracted to spiders. I know it's the hottest thing, with the eight legs and all. I can't get by that face. So who is she? She's... human. No, no. That's a bee law. You wouldn't break a bee law. - Her name's Vanessa. - Oh, boy. She's so nice. And she's a florist! Oh, no! You're dating a human florist! We're not dating. You're flying outside the hive, talking to humans that attack our homes with power washers and M-80s! One-eighth a stick of dynamite! She saved my life! And she understands me. This is over! Eat this. This is not over! What was that? - They call it a crumb. - It was so stingin' stripey! And that's not what they eat. That's what falls off what they eat! - You know what a Oinnabon is? - No. It's bread and cinnamon and frosting. They heat it up... Sit down! ...really hot! - Listen to me! We are not them! We're us. There's us and there's them! Yes, but who can deny the heart that is yearning? There's no yearning. Stop yearning. Listen to me! You have got to start thinking bee, my friend. Thinking bee! - Thinking bee. - Thinking bee. Thinking bee! Thinking bee! Thinking bee! Thinking bee! There he is. He's in the pool. You know what your problem is, Barry? I gotta start thinking bee? How much longer will this go on? It's been three days! Why aren't you working? I've got a lot of big life decisions to think about. What life? You have no life! You have no job. You're barely a bee! Would it kill you to make a little honey? Barry, come out. Your father's talking to you. Martin, would you talk to him? Barry, I'm talking to you! You coming? Got everything? All set! Go ahead. I'll catch up. Don't be too long. Watch this! Vanessa! - We're still here. - I told you not to yell at him. He doesn't respond to yelling! - Then why yell at me? - Because you don't listen! I'm not listening to this. Sorry, I've gotta go. - Where are you going? - I'm meeting a friend. A girl? Is this why you can't decide? Bye. I just hope she's Bee-ish. They have a huge parade of flowers every year in Pasadena? To be in the Tournament of Roses, that's every florist's dream! Up on a float, surrounded by flowers, crowds cheering. A tournament. Do the roses compete in athletic events? No. All right, I've got one. How come you don't fly everywhere? It's exhausting. Why don't you run everywhere? It's faster. Yeah, OK, I see, I see. All right, your turn. TiVo. You can just freeze live TV? That's insane! You don't have that? We have Hivo, but it's a disease. It's a horrible, horrible disease. Oh, my. Dumb bees! You must want to sting all those jerks. We try not to sting. It's usually fatal for us. So you have to watch your temper. Very carefully. You kick a wall, take a walk, write an angry letter and throw it out. Work through it like any emotion: Anger, jealousy, lust. Oh, my goodness! Are you OK? Yeah. - What is wrong with you?! - It's a bug. He's not bothering anybody. Get out of here, you creep! What was that? A Pic 'N' Save circular? Yeah, it was. How did you know? It felt like about 10 pages. Seventy-five is pretty much our limit. You've really got that down to a science. - I lost a cousin to Italian Vogue. - I'll bet. What in the name of Mighty Hercules is this? How did this get here? Oute Bee, Golden Blossom, Ray Liotta Private Select? - Is he that actor? - I never heard of him. - Why is this here? - For people. We eat it. You don't have enough food of your own? - Well, yes. - How do you get it? - Bees make it. - I know who makes it! And it's hard to make it! There's heating, cooling, stirring. You need a whole Krelman thing! - It's organic. - It's our-ganic! It's just honey, Barry. Just what?! Bees don't know about this! This is stealing! A lot of stealing! You've taken our homes, schools, hospitals! This is all we have! And it's on sale?! I'm getting to the bottom of this. I'm getting to the bottom of all of this! Hey, Hector. - You almost done? - Almost. He is here. I sense it. Well, I guess I'll go home now and just leave this nice honey out, with no one around. You're busted, box boy! I knew I heard something. So you can talk! I can talk. And now you'll start talking! Where you getting the sweet stuff? Who's your supplier? I don't understand. I thought we were friends. The last thing we want to do is upset bees! You're too late! It's ours now! You, sir, have crossed the wrong sword! You, sir, will be lunch for my iguana, Ignacio! Where is the honey coming from? Tell me where! Honey Farms! It comes from Honey Farms! Orazy person! What horrible thing has happened here? These faces, they never knew what hit them. And now they're on the road to nowhere! Just keep still. What? You're not dead? Do I look dead? They will wipe anything that moves. Where you headed? To Honey Farms. I am onto something huge here. I'm going to Alaska. Moose blood, crazy stuff. Blows your head off! I'm going to Tacoma. - And you? - He really is dead. All right. Uh-oh! - What is that?! - Oh, no! - A wiper! Triple blade! - Triple blade? Jump on! It's your only chance, bee! Why does everything have to be so doggone clean?! How much do you people need to see?! Open your eyes! Stick your head out the window! From NPR News in Washington, I'm Oarl Kasell. But don't kill no more bugs! - Bee! - Moose blood guy!! - You hear something? - Like what? Like tiny screaming. Turn off the radio. Whassup, bee boy? Hey, Blood. Just a row of honey jars, as far as the eye could see. Wow! I assume wherever this truck goes is where they're getting it. I mean, that honey's ours. - Bees hang tight. - We're all jammed in. It's a close community. Not us, man. We on our own. Every mosquito on his own. - What if you get in trouble? - You a mosquito, you in trouble. Nobody likes us. They just smack. See a mosquito, smack, smack! At least you're out in the world. You must meet girls. Mosquito girls try to trade up, get with a moth, dragonfly. Mosquito girl don't want no mosquito. You got to be kidding me! Mooseblood's about to leave the building! So long, bee! - Hey, guys! - Mooseblood! I knew I'd catch y'all down here. Did you bring your crazy straw? We throw it in jars, slap a label on it, and it's pretty much pure profit. What is this place? A bee's got a brain the size of a pinhead. They are pinheads! Pinhead. - Oheck out the new smoker. - Oh, sweet. That's the one you want. The Thomas 3000! Smoker? Ninety puffs a minute, semi-automatic. Twice the nicotine, all the tar. A couple breaths of this knocks them right out. They make the honey, and we make the money. "They make the honey, and we make the money"? Oh, my! What's going on? Are you OK? Yeah. It doesn't last too long. Do you know you're in a fake hive with fake walls? Our queen was moved here. We had no choice. This is your queen? That's a man in women's clothes! That's a drag queen! What is this? Oh, no! There's hundreds of them! Bee honey. Our honey is being brazenly stolen on a massive scale! This is worse than anything bears have done! I intend to do something. Oh, Barry, stop. Who told you humans are taking our honey? That's a rumor. Do these look like rumors? That's a conspiracy theory. These are obviously doctored photos. How did you get mixed up in this? He's been talking to humans. - What? - Talking to humans?! He has a human girlfriend. And they make out! Make out? Barry! We do not. - You wish you could. - Whose side are you on? The bees! I dated a cricket once in San Antonio. Those crazy legs kept me up all night. Barry, this is what you want to do with your life? I want to do it for all our lives. Nobody works harder than bees! Dad, I remember you coming home so overworked your hands were still stirring. You couldn't stop. I remember that. What right do they have to our honey? We live on two cups a year. They put it in lip balm for no reason whatsoever! Even if it's true, what can one bee do? Sting them where it really hurts. In the face! The eye! - That would hurt. - No. Up the nose? That's a killer. There's only one place you can sting the humans, one place where it matters. Hive at Five, the hive's only full-hour action news source. No more bee beards! With Bob Bumble at the anchor desk. Weather with Storm Stinger. Sports with Buzz Larvi. And Jeanette Ohung. - Good evening. I'm Bob Bumble. - And I'm Jeanette Ohung. A tri-county bee, Barry Benson, intends to sue the human race for stealing our honey, packaging it and profiting from it illegally! Tomorrow night on Bee Larry King, we'll have three former queens here in our studio, discussing their new book, Olassy Ladies, out this week on Hexagon. Tonight we're talking to Barry Benson. Did you ever think, "I'm a kid from the hive. I can't do this"? Bees have never been afraid to change the world. What about Bee Oolumbus? Bee Gandhi? Bejesus? Where I'm from, we'd never sue humans. We were thinking of stickball or candy stores. How old are you? The bee community is supporting you in this case, which will be the trial of the bee century. You know, they have a Larry King in the human world too. It's a common name. Next week... He looks like you and has a show and suspenders and colored dots... Next week... Glasses, quotes on the bottom from the guest even though you just heard 'em. Bear Week next week! They're scary, hairy and here live. Always leans forward, pointy shoulders, squinty eyes, very Jewish. In tennis, you attack at the point of weakness! It was my grandmother, Ken. She's 81. Honey, her backhand's a joke! I'm not gonna take advantage of that? Quiet, please. Actual work going on here. - Is that that same bee? - Yes, it is! I'm helping him sue the human race. - Hello. - Hello, bee. This is Ken. Yeah, I remember you. Timberland, size ten and a half. Vibram sole, I believe. Why does he talk again? Listen, you better go 'cause we're really busy working. But it's our yogurt night! Bye-bye. Why is yogurt night so difficult?! You poor thing. You two have been at this for hours! Yes, and Adam here has been a huge help. - Frosting... - How many sugars? Just one. I try not to use the competition. So why are you helping me? Bees have good qualities. And it takes my mind off the shop. Instead of flowers, people are giving balloon bouquets now. Those are great, if you're three. And artificial flowers. - Oh, those just get me psychotic! - Yeah, me too. Bent stingers, pointless pollination. Bees must hate those fake things! Nothing worse than a daffodil that's had work done. Maybe this could make up for it a little bit. - This lawsuit's a pretty big deal. - I guess. You sure you want to go through with it? Am I sure? When I'm done with the humans, they won't be able to say, "Honey, I'm home," without paying a royalty! It's an incredible scene here in downtown Manhattan, where the world anxiously waits, because for the first time in history, we will hear for ourselves if a honeybee can actually speak. What have we gotten into here, Barry? It's pretty big, isn't it? I can't believe how many humans don't work during the day. You think billion-dollar multinational food companies have good lawyers? Everybody needs to stay behind the barricade. - What's the matter? - I don't know, I just got a chill. Well, if it isn't the bee team. You boys work on this? All rise! The Honorable Judge Bumbleton presiding. All right. Oase number 4475, Superior Oourt of New York, Barry Bee Benson v. the Honey Industry is now in session. Mr. Montgomery, you're representing the five food companies collectively? A privilege. Mr. Benson... you're representing all the bees of the world? I'm kidding. Yes, Your Honor, we're ready to proceed. Mr. Montgomery, your opening statement, please. Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, my grandmother was a simple woman. Born on a farm, she believed it was man's divine right to benefit from the bounty of nature God put before us. If we lived in the topsy-turvy world Mr. Benson imagines, just think of what would it mean. I would have to negotiate with the silkworm for the elastic in my britches! Talking bee! How do we know this isn't some sort of holographic motion-picture-capture Hollywood wizardry? They could be using laser beams! Robotics! Ventriloquism! Oloning! For all we know, he could be on steroids! Mr. Benson? Ladies and gentlemen, there's no trickery here. I'm just an ordinary bee. Honey's pretty important to me. It's important to all bees. We invented it! We make it. And we protect it with our lives. Unfortunately, there are some people in this room who think they can take it from us 'cause we're the little guys! I'm hoping that, after this is all over, you'll see how, by taking our honey, you not only take everything we have but everything we are! I wish he'd dress like that all the time. So nice! Oall your first witness. So, Mr. Klauss Vanderhayden of Honey Farms, big company you have. I suppose so. I see you also own Honeyburton and Honron! Yes, they provide beekeepers for our farms. Beekeeper. I find that to be a very

Sorry, this is a long explanation to get to the present question at hand.
So, my 19 year old sister (we'll call her Sara) started dating a 32 year old man (we'll call him Ben) He was her ex-boyfriend's former employer and that's how they met. 😬
I know age gaps can work but you have to be mature about it.
Anyway, they go ahead with the relationship even though it had a shady start and our whole family was against it. Ben was funny and easy going so he got a pass eventually, but maturity is not something they're known for.
He lived out of state so he'd come up every week and stay at my parents over the weekend. Throughout the whole relationship my sister changed. She went from a fun, active, down to earth person to a selfish, complaining, couch potato. Ben served her hand and foot.
I started to notice he was emotionaly immature and insecure. (He had a hissy fit and pouted when she wanted to invite an old school friend (m) who happened to be her age to their wedding.)
It was lots of little things that just got worse and worse.
They got a little house dog and Sara insisted on having it in the house (even though my mom has asthma that got so bad during this time she ended up in the ER) Neither Sara nor Ben felt it had anything to do with the dog.
Any food they brought into the house was "their food". My dad (who is on dialysis with kidney failure) asked if he could try some of Sara's sourdough. "No, that's mine." Later she and Ben went and made sandwiches using up Dad's Italian bread mom gets especially for him.
Mom buys expensive all natural fruit pops and has a 1 per day limit, for our siblings living at home. Ben and Sara would scarf down 3-4 a piece without any thought for mom's rule.
They repeatedly helped themselves to the bacon, meat, bread, fruit, or anything else they wanted.
My mom told them she didn't want their dog climbing up on her $6000 leather couches because she was afraid he'd scratch them. They would roll there eyes and let him up anyway when she wasn't looking. When she finally confronted them again, Ben said "Choices, choices." Along with implying that you shouldn't buy such expensive stuff if you don't want it ruined. (These were a gift to mom from my dad that he pinched and scraped for)
Anytime you confronted them they'd act so hurt and wounded and Sara would say she's not welcome at home and Ben would give the silent treatment and pout like a toddler.
They finally got engaged and my little sister was overwhelmed by all the planning. I love planning and organizing events so I was more than happy to donate my time and energy to help her out.
Now, my parents are not rich or even well off. They agreed to help out as much as they could with the wedding costs. Ben was going to pitch in and I have no idea how much my sister had saved up.
For reference, none of us 3 older sisters spent more than $400 on our wedding dresses. I spent $300 on my photographer. The church we got married at had a ceremony hall and reception area that included round tables, chairs, all the dinnerware, serving ware, and kitchen for $1,000.
Basically, we were broke, and even though some of us "married up" we didn't expect our fiancés to foot the bill of an extravagant wedding. We found short cuts and ways to make it pretty but as inexpensive possible.
I am ALL about gorgeous weddings. If you have the means, go for it!! But if you don't, then accept that and don't guilt your parents into shelling out more than they can afford.
Anyway, Sara desperately wanted to have an outdoor wedding with a tent $4000+ and that's just bare bones, cheapest stuff, no tableware. She had a hissy fit about using the church we did because "it's ugly and everyone gets married there!" Realizing he's probably going to pay for most of the wedding, Ben finally talked her into it.
I also design and print stuff, kind of on the side, so I offered to do their invitations. Dusty blue envelopes, wax seal, arched invites, matching rsvp cards, and a photo of them. $250 that I decided to donate because I wanted them to have a nice wedding.
I searched and searched for a dress for her. Nothing was good enough. She went to multiple fittings. Her budget was $1000. I finally found what she wanted for $1500.
Basically how everything went. The "budget" had to keep bumping up until Ben was having to use credit for stuff.
Whenever he'd visit they'd sit on the couch eating my parents food and doing the bare minimum while the wedding approached. It felt like they were waiting for me to do everything. Mind you, I had a new baby and 3 other children. I'm a busy person and my life was on hold just to help her with her wedding. I had to keep pestering them and prodding them to get them motivated.
At this point, I had
-designed, printed and assembled the invitations (no cost to her) - found and ordered her dress - helped her find a photographer - found and ordered all her decorations and flowers - somehow got roped into being the contact for her kitchen help - had to come up with the whole ceremony order -and a myriad of other random things that most brides do themselves. I mean, I did it for my wedding.
All while they were unhurried about any of it even though we only had 3 months to plan. It seemed like any time I talked about wedding planning she would get agitated and stressed and wish they could just "go to the JP" or "skip the whole thing". At the same time, she wanted everything to be "perfect" for the pictures. Whether or not the experience was nice, as long as the pictures were, that's all that mattered.
At the church there was no "getting ready" room. Just an ugly yellow nursery with no windows. So I told her not to worry about any of it, I would set up a conference room that was right outside the lobby for her to use. (Kind of as a surprise/ gift to her) She acted like "of course 'we' would set up something nice for the getting ready pics."
She fussed at the room I had chosen, told me the pale grey wall would clash with their dresses and insisted we use one of the tiny upstairs classrooms.
Mind you, I was planning on carrying in a couch, carpets, a vanity, chandelier, dressing room divider, and all manner of pretty things to make this look nice. I did not want to make everyone drag those up 2 flights if stairs. I used the room I wanted despite her being upset and causing drama.
My brothers and brother-in-laws helped set up the chairs outside for the ceremony, and set up the whole reception hall. Family and friends pitched in to hang lights and arrange flowers and make everything look lovely. We all stayed up late getting it ready.
I told them we (Sara's family) who did most of the work setting up would like to not be responsible for getting all the ceremony chairs taken down. So Ben goes ahead and calls my brother to do it regardless.
Wedding day finally comes and I had done my absolute BEST to help any way I could. I gave them multiple lists and instructions. I did agree to HELP them, not take over the entire thing.
But on the day, they failed to have anyone tell the ushers where to seat the families at the reception. She failed to line up anyone to take her Polaroid pictures at the ceremony. Which resulted in her frantically asking me to call several people. It was stressful and borderline chaotic behind the scenes the whole day.
They decided to take bridal party pictures before the family photos which resulted in both bride and groom's large families with crying babies and children waiting in the hot sun for almost 2 hours.
The whole wedding just screamed "we don't give a crap about you, it's all about us". Yeah, it is your big day, but what about all the kind family that agreed to help you in so many ways?
START READING HERE IF YOU DON'T WANT TO READ THE WHOLE EPISTLE
It all came to a head when Ben told my oldest sister they don't want the car decorated, they just got the inside detailed.
Now, in our culture, decorating the car is just what's done. It's like a reward for the guys (mostly) for helping set up and what not. You only decorate the car of people you love. It's expected the bride and groom are "annoyed" but it's all in fun. No one damages anything. Just streamers and washable markers and filling the car with balloons, things like that.
So my oldest sister (Tiffany) knew the guys would all do something anyway, so she went to make sure it looked classy and nice without anything in the interior.
The reception was getting ready for open mic after a few golden hour pictures. The guys were decorating the car and my big sis was there overseeing and making sure nothing got messed up.
Ben and Sara come around the corner and completely lost their minds. Sara broke down crying and whining and Ben went and yelled in my sister's face about his precious truck and how could she go against him. Everyone just stood their stunned. Even his groomsmen were shocked.
Everyone filed back in to the reception hall to eat dessert and have open mic. All the family and most of the groomsmen that were out there didn't go up to open mic like they had planned. It was awkward and strained.
My sister sat in the nursery bawling her eyes out. She was heavily involved with all the setting up and had a newborn on top of everything so to get belittled so aggressively was too much for her.
Right before they left I let them know, very pointedly, how ungrateful and rude they were to our sister and that she deserved an apology.
She worked so hard. We all did. It's not like they paid us. We did it for love and family. We're all pretty close and I think I was eager to help the Sara I thought I knew.
The whole entire relationship they've been selfish turds just getting their way and running over people. The one time someone goes against them, boom. A meltdown and crapping all over everyone. I was so glad all the sparkles on her big fancy dress shed ALL over the inside of their "freshly detailed" truck.
They did call Tiffany the next day, but recently I found our they're still bitter about it. They're also holding a grudge that she confronted Sara for not stepping up to plan her own wedding when I was having a break down. And for when Tiffany helped my mom move our youngest sister into Sara's old room (a prime room in the house) that Sara was trying to keep for herself for when she and Ben visit.
It's throwing a wrench into our plans for Sara's baby shower. She would love if I would plan one for her and I and Tiffany live close to each other and I'd like her help. As soon as Sara knew Tiffany was involved she suddenly doesn't like the idea we came up with and wants to do something completely different and acts like it's this big deal.
I'm torn because it is her baby shower but at the same time, I feel like it's unfair to change everything that Tiffany helped think up for a stupid grudge.
I'm kind of planning to go ahead with whatever we decide and let Sara suck it up.
Anyway, AITA?

Hey guys so its been half a year since I made that post about Morey's rebranding, and I'm getting questions on what we've been up to and what our current projects are. So here it is! ( this is going to be really long by the way, so please bear with me.)
First things first, I want to address the entire bodyboarding community again on our mishaps and errors in the past, I can only apologize for the mismanagement of the brand by previous brand directors, and can only do my best to make good with the community and do what my best now to propel the brand forward. I just need a little faith from you guys to trust that I am putting in my best efforts to bring Morey BZ and Churchill back through investing and involving ourselves in the community, and developing quality products. I don't expect everyone to suddenly jump ship and be on our side, but it would be nice if I can get some support too, gives me the motivation to work harder :) But I digress, please read more below to see what I've been working on.
On relationship with the Morey family / Community
- Since the rebrand, I have reached out to Melinda Morey, the daughter of Tom, to get her blessing and faith on my efforts to propel the Morey brand to what it once was. She's expressed that she's happy with the work I'm putting and getting Pierre on the team. In an effort to better understand the bodyboarding landscape and connect with the community better, I've also been accompanying our sales manager to meet our buyers and visit local surf shops in california. And one of these visits, I had the honor of meeting Jay Reale from ebodyboarding... Ex Morey Team Rider, and also explained to him the current projects and marketing efforts. He's expressed that he's excited for what we have in store.
(I'll attach a link of a pic I took of our sales manager and Jay)
During my meeting with Jay, he also gave me a contact to a Patti Serrano. She used to be the marketing director for Morey in the 80s, worked alongside Tom and at Kransco too. In ways, if Tom was the inventor of the bodyboard, Patti was the person that popularized the sport of bodyboarding. Got on the phone with her, had a super long conversation, apologized to her for our past, talked about her current projects to bring bodyboarding at the grassroot level to youngins, and also potentially collaborating in the future. I think my sincerity spoke for itself, and she's agreed to schedule a meeting with me, Sol and Marchia in July.
On investing in athletes and youth
- Since the rebrand, I got a budget approved to sponsor athletes. Speaking with our distributors in the Europe region, we decided to reach out to Pierre Louis Costes as he was tailing the end of his contract with Pride. After months of talking to Pierre, he felt my genuine desire to bring up the brand and we came to an agreement. Alot of people think we offered him an exorbitant amount to be on the team, but truth is, he's been offered more lucrative deals with more money and still chose to go with us. To him, this is a personal project, to work directly with me in all things Morey, BZ, Churchill related. Everything from marketing, sales, to product development, to future athletes, I discuss with Pierre... I talk to Pierre on almost a daily basis now. Aside from Pierre, we also have more young guns in the Europe region join our team, like Txomin, Emie, Timeo, and Vincente. Our focus now is to look for riders and representation in the states. But it's been hard cause I'm really working on a very very tight budget, and I've spent most of my marketing budget already haha.
On Morey product development
- We recently came out with a new board MACH 12 ECO TECH. And we've gotten lots of feedback from the community, most good, some not so good. I've heard some dissatisfied fans calling it Costco trash and all. But the whole idea of this board is based around Hawaii's banning of EPS material. We wanted to come up with something that is eco-friendly and good enough to be a mid range board. In an effort to do this, we decided to make a board that is super high density PP core. Most boards are 1.8 lb per cubic foot, our board is a super dense 3.12 lbs per cubic foot PP core, we made it so dense that we decided we didn't even need a stringer and mesh for the board to reinforce it. And made it in a made that the materials is expanded directly into the mould, leaving no waste. There is also no need for a deck wrap cause we made it in a way that the top surface is already grippy enough, no wax needed. Bear in mind for the quality of this board, it is simply not viable for us to sell in costco... Costco wouldn't even consider taking this board. Considering the production cost juxtaposed to the what they normally sell bodyboards for, they would be taking a massive loss if they ever carried this board in their stores. We've sent this board to Pierre for testing, Pierre also has a camp where he teaches bodyboading and we've sent this board for his students for testing, we got feedback that the turning ability of the board can be better but overall, its really a quality mid-range board.
- Aside from this board, we have also been working on Pierre's signature board, our design team is working right now to present Pierre with deck and slick designs he's happy with. Its still under wraps for now but we are aiming for a 2025 release.
On BZ
- we are currently working on a new website for BZ, and also creating a brand guideline for BZ. We have big plans for the brand. Not much to talk about for now.
On Churchill Swim Fins
- since my last post, I have spoken to upper management about clearing our current inventory of the Makapuus and bringing back Malaysian rubber. Our sales team is working hard to clear out our current inventory to make it possible and viable for the release of a new version of the Makapuu using Malaysian Rubber. I have spoken to our manufacturers in China, and have requested samples to made using Malaysian rubber. They have imported different types of Malaysian rubber and we have also tweaked the stiffness and rigidty of our fins using our OLD fins as a template and guide (the old fins as in the ones that was made before we switched it to Chinese rubber). Full transparency here, the new fins are still going to be made in China, but the rubber is imported from Malaysia. Don't worry, I have already sent these samples to Pierre, Iain Campbell and Amaury Lavernhe, all very prominent bodyboarders to test out this new sample, and the feedback TRUST, is nothing short of amazing, its a softer and smooth to touch on the skin, no chafing, and I've made sure to tweak the stiffness appropriately so it doesn't lose power. These samples have been augmented three times and we have finally came up with what the team and I both think is the best version. So once we clear out our current inventory we will release the new ones. You might wonder why not just move production entirely to Malaysia? This simply does not make sense for us financially as Malaysian manufacturers would require us to rebuilt the tooling for our fins and that would simply be too expensive. The raw material for the fin is what really matters, and I have made damn sure to get the best material.
- Aside from our classic Makapuu revamp, we've also been working on a new age symmetrical Churchill Swim Fin, this fin will cater more to bodysurfers, watermen etc. Super cool design we came up with, unfortunately I can't reveal it yet. These pair of fins will be made in a malaysian factory using malaysian rubber. Aiming for 2025 release. More on that later.

Am I imagining things
* * * * Things have been rocky since my then boyfriend chose another girl over me back in 2018. He swore there was nothing there, gave an him an ultimatum and he chose her. Later found out they were talking 24/7 got eachother Christmas gifts and instead of officially breaking up he spent new years with her and they began dating a week later. Eventually he came back, regretted everything and apologized non stop. We tried to move past it, & we had our daughter after 2 years.
I come to find that he had been paying for only fans while I was pregnant and he had been out of town alot due to work (his line of work does require a lot of travel). I told him if he wants to view only fan pages and pay for what he can see for free that's on him but I better not see him getting any one in our local area. Well I see that he kept viewing this one girls only fans from our city. And I called him out and his solution was to delete only fans and removes ig.
Then in early 2022 I decided I needed to put all that doubt I've had for him past us if we ever wanted to move forward. Then in late 2022 he began talking about a female coworker and how she had helped him thru airport security etc as it was his first time going thru alone. She began giving him stuff to put on him desk, she began sending him pics of office jokes. We had gone to a work party at someones home, she stuck to me and my daughter most of the night although there were plenty of other older ladies she can chat with. I was sticking with the only other mom at the party but thus lady kept trying to make convo and kept trying to play with my daughter.
With his past history of friendships with females, I was getting wary. I began working, talked to a coworker and she said it doesn't scream cheating but if I'm feeling that feeling it may be something. I look thru his phone and although I don't see evidence of cheating, I see that they are always messaging at work, anytime he says in the gc he's going to lunch she joins but won't always respond to others, they had little sexual jokes like "women stop, telling me to go under your desk when I'm ready" to her telling him she had his parts under her desk with a pic of the box. She was sending pics of prices for her wax lady as an inside joke, she had pics of him around the office, and under one text thread she said "wow thanks for leaving me alone, atleast I made a friend" and it was a pic of a donkey. So I check our messages from that date and he hadn't answered me all day because "he didn't have good service." There were also messages from 9pm when he's out of town, stating if there was anything they needed to let her know and shed go.... what is a dispatcher going to help with? This was all thru her what's app, work phone and private cell .
I confronted him and I called it off. It was a much too similar situation to previous girl. He's always struggled with boundaries with females. He begged and pleaded it wasn't like that, that the day he left her was due to checking out a project but just forgot to tell me. I was dead set on leaving, I moved my items to the spare room, slept there took my daughter over. He would sleep there in the bed every night on the other side and apologized non stop and said it wasn't like that. But he did have to tell her what happened and why he can't talk to her the same anymore. Idk I was set and his begging made me stay. This was Jan 2023.
* * * We've been trying to navigate this mess. So far things had been fine. I worked overnights tho so from 630pm to 5pm I wouldn't see him so maybe I just missed things. Well come December and I had to quit due to pregnancy issues. I noticed back in jan2024 he began charging his phone in the day and he'd keep it in his pocket all night, then he'd turn off notifications at night.
Since I began working overnights he had not done as much out of town work due to being a manager but lately he's been having to go on more calls later so he gets home late, he has to work weekends and he's been going Saturdays for about 4 hours in the mornings to finish up stuff, to get on a project or complete tests.. it's been various Saturdays from January to now. I also notice when he's going to show me something on his phone and he has to scroll thru he quickly jumps out of messages. His fingers get jittery looking thru the gallery. And his movements are rapid.
Lately he's been turning his phone away as he's getting a message and replying. I've searched his wallet and nada. He doesn't post or interact on fb much because it's how I've caught him in the past so he doesn't do much with it. Anytime he send me messages he makes sure to screenshot the meme perfectly as I caught him when he sent me memes and I saw notifications previously. So he's only sent the memes themselves since. He's always receiving messages but due to his line of work, it is possible it's work. He has been trying to grow out his beard and has lost weight (not drastically but noticeable).
I'm at a loss. I feel like I know there is something going on but I also feel like I make something out of nothing each time and just cause drama. And it just so happen everything always happens around dec-feb. Like what if it's just a pattern with me. The only way to know for sure would be his phone, but he doesn't leave it out of reach ever. And I can confront him but he'll deny. He always has until I took out the pics I took as proof. And I just need to see it, I need to validate that I'm not insane.
I don't know where else to rant. I'm pregnant, no job and idk. If I blow this up. Then what? I know I could do it on my own after baby is born but prior? In Texas, no one will offer maternity leave for less than the year and I'm 6 months pregnant. It's a bit late to hide the pregnancy too. I've been patient and haven't acted on anything since January and I still have not been able to see his phone. I'm boiling over in anger and he noticed on Monday and has been asking what's going on. Tell me why yesterday out of nowhere he unplugged my phone to charge his and I'm like wth. He said his is important because he's been trying not to charge his phone at night to reduce straining the battery so he needs his charged now.. . But I feel like he knows I know something and he's trying to provide excuses before I can connect it all

Finally pulled the trigger on a bag that I have been returning back and forth for a couple of months now since seeing it first on Instagram then seeing the rep coincidentally on multiple rep subs.
This is not my first rep, I’ve dabbled in AE and the Fence finds so I know that brands can be copied, but I am slightly new on Reddit and this is really the first time I’ve created an account to submit anything. I love unique designs which is why this bag caught my eye. I don’t usually go for Chanel or Gucci or anything that is very recognizable, my preference are handcrafted items or leather craft brands. To me, procuring a smaller collection is more my style, so I take my time to ponder over a purchase before pulling the trigger. I wanted to share my purchase since I have not seen this colorway reviewed yet.
Disclosure: no discounts whatsoever, but Adele does know I am writing this review since I checked with her that the prices are still the same.
Seller: Adele:
Whatsapp/Wechat: +86-150-7946-6161,
Instagram: Adele85YH
album: https://s.wsxc.cn/Didr6L
Price: $360 + 75 (Shipped via fedex to my country in a plain box) = $435
Payment method: Paypal FF
Timeline : Around a year ago, I saw this bag carried by someone at a Shake Shack (I know, I know) so I looked it up on google and saw some Instagram posts. Saw the price and I let that bag dream die due to sticker shock.
Inquired 3/5/2024 started messaging Adele for this bag when I saw the reviews on different rep subs (RLD, LL and WL). She sends me HY factory pics and tells me this is her recommended source.
Finally got around to paying Adele when I could not get it out of my mind, paid 3/16/2024.
Adele sent me psps 3/20/2024. I approved them on the same day.
My bag arrives in my country 3/29/2024.
Photos:
HY Factory: https://imgur.com/a/M5nkwsf
PSP: https://imgur.com/a/8nXXkkn
My pics: https://imgur.com/a/VlP715X
Auth: https://www.vestiairecollective.com/women-bags/handbags/loewe/black-leather-woven-basket-bag-loewe-handbag-42466733.shtml
Also see u/ Wild_Sympathy9591’s awesome review: https://www.reddit.com/WagoonLadies/comments/1b671jt/review_beautiful_loewe_woven_basket_tote_in_tan/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button

Review:
Quality: Amazed at this level of craftsmanship in a rep.
The meticulous craftsmanship of this leather weave is evident in how the bag is structured. It has substantial thickness, attention to detail in the stitching and structure, and the suppleness and velvety feel of each leather “strand” really reflect handcrafted luxury. The grained texture of the leather allows it to be scratch resistant and pliable. The combination of black and tan allow it to straddle neutral or dark territory. I was truly torn between the brown or black, but the contrast stitching and glazing on the black weave could not leave my mind! I loved the pics when I saw it on RLD and I couldn’t get it out of my mind so I ordered it after pondering for a while.
I love how sturdy the leather is, how the weave changes the bag’s shape and allows it to be slightly fluid. The inner chamber is substantial and I can get a lot of stuff in there without feeling like I am going to break my bag. As said, this bag really gives of BV vibes because of the intreccato leather but there’s nothing in the Bottega arsenal that matches the outlined diamond weave due to the contrasting glaze and stitching along the border. This bag just looks unique!
The handles are also very well designed, they’re sturdy enough to hold the bag together without disrupting the unique shape of the bag. I also appreciate how, despite it’s size, the bag has a shoulder strap for crossbody days. Overall, I find that its structured design ensures longevity—a testament to enduring quality.
Accuracy: Divided into 2 parts:
Factory: Adele’s factory pictures for HY factory convinced me to pull the trigger. I thought the leather looked great and the shape also matched the auth pics that I could find. I compared the factory pics against the auth and tried to dive into the details as much as I could. In the end, I bit the bullet and ordered. I do think my bag is exactly the same as the one listed on her factory pics. I am very certain it’s the same source.
For the comparison to the auth, I will write this section in bullets:
Dimensions:
o Width (at widest point): Approximately 38 cm
o Height (at highest point): Approximately 30 cm
o Depth (at widest point): Approximately 18 cm
o Length (end to end, including shoulder strap): 79 cm
o The website sizes vary (since it’s not official Leowe) so I can’t verify. That being said, it’s a shape shifter of a bag so I am not going to wax poetic on the dimensions. Removing 1 point for technicality because I can’t be certain they’re nailed.
Design and Construction:
o Craftsmanship: this bag really screams at anyone who appreciates leather work because of the contrast glazing and stitching. I do see very few crooked stitches but I personally don’t mind this because it means that this was likely hand stitched or at least human error was involved. I am someone who appreciates the hand made side of things so this particular imperfection is ok with me.
o Stitching and Weave Pattern: Precisely matched to the authentic version in terms of the alignment and the shape.
o Shape: The basket shape that lends itself to the woven nature of the leather is designed so well. I feel this bag accurately replicates the original bag’s silhouette.
o Interior: Features a single spacious compartment with a stabilizing base insert.
Authenticity Details:
o The Loewe blind stamp is clean and straight. The depth is consistent with the auth pics I’ve found. I also feel the shape of the typeface/ font type is accurate.
o Blind Stamping on Base Shaper: Clean and font-matched to the auth bag.
o Leather Grain: Boasts a durable, scratch-resistant pebbled texture that matches the auth that I saw at Shake Shack and on Instagram. Very happy with the quality and accuracy of this leather to the auth Loewe bag.
Functionality:
o Accommodates Essentials and MORE: Easily fits a sweater, my wallet, keys, phone, water bottle, small umbrella, toiletry bag, bug spray, puppy poop bags, wet wipes, etc.
o Water Resistance: I was using it yesterday and it sort of drizzled on me so this bag did get wet. I immediately dried it when I got into the car, but for now no harm to the leather at all!
o Versatile: I know I will be using this for travel related runs or even as a daily bag for all my stuff. I’ve already gotten 2 compliments on it and my sister (I unboxed my bag at her house) is now browsing Adele’s album for her own reps. She’s shocked at how good the quality is and could not stop fondling my bag!
Rep Satisfaction:
Truly happy I finally pulled the trigger on this beauty and at this rather affordable price, I know I got genuinely good leather and that the bag was crafted with care and precision. If this bag came unbranded I would have gladly paid the same because of how good the leather feels in my hands. For those who appreciate a well crafted bag, I highly recommend this, especially for summertime.
The shape may be a bit cavernous to some and I do wish Loewe made a smaller baby version of this bag, but it’s still a practical beauty that is quite eye catching in a unique and classy manner.
Service satisfaction:
This is my first purchase from Adele and I found her to be quite frank and honest with her perception of factories and quality. She knew I was not someone who parted with my money easily but she said that she would rather not sell to me than sell a lower tier bag. I respected that about her and so it gave me confidence in shopping with her for this particular bag. As far as payment, packaging and delivery goes, Adele did well. Payment was seamless, though I did initially have hesitation in paying using friends and family (AE and DHG have the refund option which is nice). The bag was packaged in a huge box covered in a lot of tape. It was undamaged though but I spent a good 30 minutes unwrapping everything. I thanked her for the bag when I got it and she was quick to ask how I liked it and was genuinely interested to know whether I was happy with my bag. It makes a difference to me that a seller cares enough to know whether I like my bags or not, even after payment. For this reason, I feel that I will return to buying from Adele. I know my sister is already picking out some Goyard and Loewe from her.
Wrap up:
I would not bring this into a Loewe store, why? Because I am the type that hates drawing attention to myself. I find that people who walk into stores carrying that particular brand usually get more attention because they assume you are there to purchase (since you have "purchase history", rep or not). For this reason, I stay away from any place where my bags would draw attention to myself. Please don't take this as a shot at this bag, that's not the case at all. It's just more ME, my own personality, nothing to do with the bag itself.