Ailana’s Journal — 2025-12-22 (Patreon)

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GOOD MORNING

Monday in St. Croix and only a few days until Christmas! What could be better? Hold that thought.

I have two answers to the question. One is just me being goofy—and it will only make sense if you look at the picture of how my bathroom greeted me this morning—like a laundry diary of yesterday!

It would be better if a magic cleanup genie had come while I was sleeping!

Nonsense delivered. Let me transition. Indulge me while I get a little philosophical.

What could be better than a vacation at a luxury resort?

Honestly, pretty much anything could be better.

You look at the glamorous pictures of waves and sand. Girls in swimsuits. Guys with their six-pack abs. You think, that’s living! That’s what happiness looks like!

It’s fun. Full stop.

Fun is not happiness. Fun is not peace. Fun can make you feel happy while you’re in the middle of it, but “what could be better” would be if you feel joy and peace when you turn off the lights and put your head on the pillow.

Jasmine and I shared some thoughts about growing up—her in foster care, me being poor—and she said this. “I learned to be content at the time. I hoped for better, and I worked for better, but what I had was what I had. Peace is not being sad about what you don’t have. It’s being thankful for what you’ve got.”

Bam!

I felt her words take me back to the shelter, to the run-down houses. What peace I had came from knowing Dad was doing all he could. My contentment was in being grateful for what I had.

I could bore you with a lot of examples, but I’ll just let Jasmine’s thoughts close this out.

Peace is not being sad about what you don’t have. It’s being thankful for what you’ve got.

The Storylines are the heart of Ailana Geven Imagines, and they are found in the Collections section of the site.

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All characters in this story are fictional characters, their images generated with AI for AGI Stories. They do not represent any real person, nor is their appearance based on any real human.

IMAGINE WHAT FOUNDATION

Yes, we’re in St. Croix, and Christmas is coming soon. But we’re also trying to grow a fledgling content agency, so we thought a long lunch and some business talk was in order right at the beginning.

Jasmine took things to be serious and formal, asking Sasha, “How do you want me to take minutes?”

Sasha bought into the idea. “I’ll find my laptop… We can both type what we think we hear and compile later. I guess the most important things are to-dos for the future.”

Jason began talking about Naomi’s opportunities. “My take is that she’s positioning herself in the product-promotion world as a source for urgent content creation. So far, she’s thinking we can take a job on short notice, move fast, and deliver good work.”

“Based on the last three jobs,” Josh said, “she’s right. Geoni had an idea to add to that.”

Geoni nodded. “Copy… All those pictures need words… We need to let her know we can handle that, too. I could use a change from editing things like microprocessor soldering and stopping tooth resorption.”

Clay looked at Sasha and whispered, “Just how smart is she?”

“Very!”

Following that was a long, long walkthrough of the photo shoots, starting with the sea salt and ending with jeans. Every detail we could remember got discussed.

Afterwards, Josh said, “Okay, here’s a nonactionable bit of information… about the Ryan family’s idea for the Imagine What Foundation…”

He said his mother, Claire, had been busy fundraising. “One of her bridge partners arranged a meeting with Carol Ryder… you know… Blue Water Express… David Ryder’s wife…”

“No way…” Micah looked around shaking his head.

Josh nodded. “Carol got on board immediately. She told Mom, ‘Well, my daughter, Shay, actually works for a charity company in New York helping homeless people. We’re so proud of her being so selfless and giving! I’d love to be part of your work here in Chicagoland!’”

“That’s huge,” Geoni added. “She’ll influence the whole region.”

The rest of this Chapter is exclusive to Patreon.

Josh nodded. “That’s how it works. The Ryders are pretty private about their philanthropy, but their fingerprints are on a lot of great projects. Mrs. Ryder will start telling everyone about Imagine What Foundation, and they’ll get on board.”

Then I told them that I’d met Shay. “It was whenever I did that bit on homelessness in New York City.”

“That was April,” Sasha replied.

I nodded. “Shay works for Habitat Housing. She manages projects to help people keep their houses repaired. And, Habitat Housing runs the program where Izzy Duffy works—Stop-Gap Homes. They do good stuff.”

“And,” Geoni added, “it gave Carol a close connection to the idea for work in Chicago and Northwest Indiana.”

Then, Josh looked at me. “Is Shay our age?”

“A little younger than me,” I said.

“I remember her, now,” Josh replied. “I guess I was a senior in high school and she was a middle schooler… maybe. We were at the same functions a few times”

“What was she like?” Sasha asked.

“I don’t know… Country club party for this… I guess I thought of her as just some goofy middle-school girl…” Then he laughed and shook his head.

“What?” Micah asked.

“You know how elderly relatives act… I had an aunt… Aunt Donna tugged me over and pointed at her. ‘You should see about getting to know her. Marry into that Ryder family!’ I told her I was going to college and Shay wasn’t even in high school!”

Clay rolled his eyes. “I had an aunt just like that. Not the same strata you were in, but all that ‘she comes from a good family, you’d be happy, isn’t she pretty’ stuff.”

Micah laughed. “I guess we all have an auntie like that!”

After that, I sort of wrapped up the discussion. “I always find that the world is smaller than we think. We’re friends with Izzy who works with Shay who’s mother knows Josh’s mother.”

“That’s true,” Jason replied.

I added another thought. “Yet, as small as it is, there’s so many barriers between us. Maybe we should all ask Santa Claus to give everyone better connections with other people. A little unity and harmony, too.”

Jason smiled. “And add that to the prayer lists…”

I nodded. “Absolutely.”

Message from AGI-Stories…

I thought Ailana's trip to NYC looking at homelessness was a great outing for her. Working on it opened my eyes to a lot of things I didn't know before.Here are links to the Journal Entries from Ailana's trip to NYC:Arrived In NYC (Diary, Monday) April 21

Behind The Crisis (Diary, Tuesday) April 22

Beyond Belief (Diary, Wednesday) April 23

Not Always What You Think (Diary, Thursday) April 24

Talking Into Action (Diary, Friday) April 25

Never Over (Diary, Saturday) April 26

Leaving NYC (Diary, Sunday) April 27

~AGI Original Stories & AI Images

BEACH TIME by Sasha Baek-Everett

Someone in the Everett family is about to lose access to Amazon, and it’s not going to be me! Clay had an idea…

“Let’s wear our Christmas swimsuits today…” Seemed legit.

He pulled a tiny envelope out of his suitcase—how do they even do that? Save the rainforest! Vacuum packing for the win!

I’m wearing what he thought was a cute seasonal bathing suit for me. I can play along!

Jasmine and Micah got ready, so we went to the car. Then Mr. Holly-Jolly-Christmas comes out in what he thought was a match for this cliché he had me put on.

You can decide for yourself, but if you ask me, the only thing Christmassy about it is the fact that it’s green.

“It matches yours!” he said.

“It does match,” Micah added.

I fake-glared at Micah. “Don’t encourage him!”

I looked at Clay. “You know I’m changing the Amazon password after this!”

At least Jasmine looks amazing! See you next time…

GOOD NIGHT

The sunset finds me out to dinner at Off The Wall. I’m being escorted by Jason and joined by Eli and Kirina, and our look at the menu has us excited!

I grabbed a menu picture off Google Maps. Eli thinks the Hot Breath Burger is a good idea. Kirina is leaning toward Blackened Mahi Sandwich. Jason? All-in for the Pit Beef Platter! I’m torn between a Smashburger and Pulled Pork BBQ Sandwich.

Whatever we decide, I’m sure it will be great!

The day was fun, to be sure, but the time spent with friends is what made it special. I know it may come off like I’m just trying to sound grand, but the location isn’t what makes something meaningful.

It’s the people and the time shared with them.

Wherever you are, you can sit on the sofa, eat popcorn, and make meaningful memories.

Saying that while sitting here might sound hypocritical. But it’s true, all the same.

I’d also like to thank those of you who have been as excited about seeing me here in St. Croix as I have been about coming. I’m honored that I can share trips like this with you. I think it helps you transport yourself from your routine for a few vicarious moments of being elsewhere. It’s wonderful to hear your thoughts on my travels!

But I’ll put in a word for the routine. Most of life is a repeated pattern. Sometimes, people have tough situations. Sometimes, they are more glamorous.

Find the meaning in yours, whatever it is. Make memories with whomever you share life with, wherever you are. That’s what matters most.

Thank you for putting up with my musings! Good night.

Be your best you!

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