Skim Milk Revolution

And now for something a little more silly...

Let's begin with a little background. For the college composition class I took my senior year of high school, we had to select a piece of writing that we had scribbled into our writing journals during the year to put into a class anthology.

One afternoon, annoyed with the cafeteria for only serving skim milk, I penned a petulant story about how much I hated the stuff. While other classmates selected more serious works to add to the anthology, I, wanting to change things up, slipped in my hate letter to skim milk.

I'll warn you right now: it's a little weird. And writing wise, it's not that great. But without further ado, I present you with the inner workings of my seventeen-year-old mind.

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The cafeteria lady was wiping counters and minding her own business, just like she did every Thursday. Only on Thursdays would she mind her own business. On Fridays, she would color in her Disney Princess coloring book. On Mondays, she would drink coffee. (She does what she can. After all, it's a Monday.) On Tuesdays, she would hang out on Facebook. Her favorite day was Wednesday, because she could just close her eyes and enjoy life.

But back to Thursday. Unfortunately, this wasn't an ordinary Thursday.

The door slammed open. A wild eyed kid stood panting before her, a crushed milk carton clutched in his fist, trails of white dripping down his fingers. "THIS IS THE LAST STRAW!" he screeched.

"Um..." The mild mannered lunch lady didn't know how to respond to this.

"THIS. IS. THE. LAST. STRAW." The boy looked even angrier, if this was indeed possible.

"We have more in the back." The lady was pretty helpful as far as ladies go, "Just let me go get one for you..."

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" The kid threw his head back and screamed. "Why is there only skim milk?!"

"State orders. Sorry. Can I..."

"I can take no more of this tyranny! NO MORE!"

With that, the kid hoisted the crushed milk carton overhis head and dashed out the door. As he successfully accomplished his dramatic exit, the cafeteria lady thought she heard him scream, "REVOLUTIONNNN!" The cafeteria lady looked at the leftover cartons of milk in the cooler. Skim milk was truly disgusitng. How could she, server of nourishment, impose such torture on innocent children? She gingerly lifted a carton out of the cooler. She could do this no longer. The charade could go on no longer. Her fingers curled around the carton. "Revolution," she whispered softly.

                                                ........................................

The principal glanced out his office window. The cafeteria was a mad house. Milk was doing the impossible. It was flying everywhere. Kids were doing the possible-but-not-usually-at-school. They were the ones throwing the milk. Along with that, they were shrieking something that sounded suspiciously like "revolution."

What? He wondered.

"Sir!" His aide dashed into the room. "The children have discovered that we've given them only skim milk! It's a catastrophe!" The aide handed the principal the last carton of milk in the entire school and dashed back out. The principal curiously opened the milk and took a sip. He immediately spat it out and climbed on top of his desk, scattering papers everywhere.

"REVOLUTION!"

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Did I mention that I loathe skim milk?

Yes? Good. A dozen times? Even better. 

Books That Have Stayed With Me

There's a challenge going around Facebook at the moment, where someone is told to list 10 books that "have stayed with them," or have made an impact on their life. Although I was not challenged, this is something I really want to do. Because that's how much I love reading.

I've decided to post my list here on the blog because, with each book, I want to share a little about it, and WHY it's there. Kind of like a list of recommendations, if you will.

And I'm sure you know by now, if you've been following along, how much I love lists.


1. The Bible As a believer in Christ, this book is very, very important to me. Not only are there amazing truths, but within the pages of this Book are the most interesting stories.

2. Kira-Kira I cry every time I read this book. EVERY. DARN. TIME. Because that's how good this book is. The story of a Japanese girl moving to a new state with her older sister is just too real. Even though I don't have an older sister...

3. Inkheart Along with The Thief Lord and Dragon Rider, these three books really captured my imagination with their rich worlds and awesome characters. I read them over and over when I was younger. The idea that someone could just read something or someone into being just blew my mind.

4. The Knife of Never Letting Go/The Ask and the Answer I won't recommend these to all readers, because, unfortunately, there's some violence and a couple of swears. BUT. There's a lot of other great content in this book. Even though the characters have their flaws, you experience pain, joy, anger, and everything else right along with them.

5. The Picture of Dorian Gray I won't recommend this one to all readers as well, but this book, one I had to read for my college British Literature class, is absolutely amazing. The tale about how a naive young man steps down into darkness and depravity is fascinating, and well crafted.

6. The Giver Another book that I had to read for school, but high school this time. This one is a very short and fast paced read, but it is full to the brim with the importance of feeling and remembering.

7. Tuck Everlasting I actually saw the movie before I read this book, but, even though this is another short read, I love the story very much. Essentially, a family gets more than they bargained for when they drink out of a certain fountain.

8. A Wrinkle in Time I have loved this book ever since I first listened to it on tape when I was a kid. Sometimes I compare my brother and I to Meg and Charles Wallace. I'm the awkward older sister and Kevin's the way-too-smart-for-his-own-good younger brother. Except we don't travel through dimensions though.

9. Unwind Agh. This book. This book brings so many thoughts and opinions. It's a great read that forces us to consider human life and what it's worth.

10. Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes The. Feels. This book messed me up even worse than Kira Kira. However, I would recommend it to everyone. It gives the perspective of a girl who experienced the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima.

5 Great Things About Living With an Extroverted Roommate

Tonight my roommate and I ran around in water sprinklers, getting soaked in the process. Dripping water, we gave bear hugs to others. They got wet as well. Laughter and excited chatter filled the summery night.

We both coordinate service events in the same organization. We swing dance, often together. We go to the same church, and most of our shenanigans are with each other. We were around each other so often last year that our peers would always ask us if we were roommates. 

One major difference, and a rather huge one. 

I am an introvert. Ashley is an extrovert. 

But how do we even function? I need my alone, quiet times to "recharge". Ashley's energy comes from being around others. 

But, as the old saying goes, opposites attract. And so, there's a few great reasons to find yourself living with an extrovert. 

1. Meeting new people. I'll admit. I'm not much of a people person. People utterly exhaust me. BUT. One thing that interests me is their stories. I love getting to hear people tell me about who they are, where they come from, and seem to enjoy my [awkward] company. Plus, you'll never know who you'll encounter. 

2. Trying new things. It's not that I don't like trying new things, but Ashley has gotten me into the most interesting adventures. Some of those great times I wouldn't have experienced if I had stayed in my room like I planned. 

3. Perspective. Learning the opposite perspective is great for learning about those who may not be like you. Great friendships are built on communication and understanding, and I've come to know Ashley more through watching her extrovertedness at work. 

4. Strong communication. Yep. We may be somewhat alike, but we are also quite different. So much communication is necessary. And because we communicate so much, we've become even closer. 

5. Company. In those occasions that I need someone, anyone, I have someone. Ashley. Even those I-don't-want-to-talk-because-if-I-talk-I-shatter-into-bits times, even her presence is comforting.  

She may be an extrovert, but she's my extrovert.

Between recharging and living with one of the most beautiful people I've ever met, I guess the best part is that it never gets boring. 

Are you the opposite of your roomies? The same? Have you had any awesome adventures together?

Peace

Hello! This is the post that should have been posted on Friday. But it's being posted today. Even though it's the first day of my sophomore year of college.

That last point was actually kind of relevant.

So, let me tell you a story. 

A man had lived through a lot of trials. He had lost almost everything. But his son was going to be a father. So that was okay.

But it wasn't.

See, this man's daughter-in-law had a genetic defect that would cause the baby to have cystic fibrosis. If the baby made it past childbirth, it would not make it to it's first birthday. The doctors were already beginning to talk to the daughter-in-law about the possibility of abortion.

The doctors asked to take a genetic sample of the man's son. If the genetics were "right", if they could counteract the genetics of the daughter-in-law, then the baby might, just might, be able to survive.

It was the last hope the family had.

The son was tested, and the family waited anxiously for the results.

On the day that the son and his wife returned to the doctor for the news, the man quietly watched his wife leave. But he stopped her at the door. "Can we pray?"

The man's wife nodded, joining him on the bed. They wept as the cried out to God in earnest. They prayed for their son, his wife, and the baby.

But most of all, they prayed for peace in the storm they were currently riding through.

They comforted each other for a long time. The man kept praying, even after his wife left for work.

Then the call came.

The son's genes were perfect. Because of some Jewish heritage, his genes were able to cancel out the possibility of cystic fibrosis. The baby was going to be healthy and live a full life span.

"Dad," the son said, choking a bit on his words, "I'm going to be a father. I'm going to have a beautiful baby girl."

"That's great, son." The father smiled.

"But, Dad. We got an ultrasound today. And in one of the pictures, the baby was making a peace sign with her fingers.

A perfect peace sign."




How is this relevant to my first day of school? The man in the story? He's my art professor. He began his semester with a profession of faith. Of courage. Of peace.

This story really comforted me today. I hope it may have the same effect on you, whoever you are, and what storm you are facing.

Now Where Did You Go Again? (A Little Life Update)

Looks like I owe you guys a couple of blog posts, then. Sorry about that! Life (college) kind of got in the way. Still, I'll give you two. One for today, one this weekend, and regular blogging shall resume next Friday. Deal?

Mmkay. So here's what up:

1. Moved back to college! I was traveling on Friday...you know, when I was SUPPOSED to give you a post. I'm living in the Leadership dorm, much like I was last year.

2 My roommate is an extrovert, I'm an introvert. That sounds like the beginning to a bad joke with a cheesy punchline. "An extrovert and an introvert move into a dorm..."

3. I've been pretty at color guard practice every day since Saturday. I hurt all over. My blisters have blisters.

4. I start school Monday! Second year of college. (WHAT IS THIS MADNESS.)

5. Band preseason week has been every day from like at least 12 hours a day. SO. MUCH. MARCHING. (Good thing I love this stuff.)

I've been pretty busy so far, but thanks for keeping up with me!




Final thought: I have a couple ideas for this blog and blogging in general. This blog is only a springboard into even more blogging, so I have a couple more ideas of where I want to go from here.

Appreciating the Little Things.

I've been having a rough semester / summer. This week has been one of my hardest, not physically, but everything else. I'm just not sure what's going on. I'm just...kinda empty right now.  Nothing is wrong, but everything is wrong.

Except maybe my plight has affected me physically, because I've slept so much. Too much. Like, almost all day. 

But. 

Thursday morning, I awoke to the sound of my phone buzzing. I glanced at the clock by my bed. 8:30 a.m. Who could be calling me at this hour? 

Mumbling a gruff hello? into the phone, I waited for a moment. Then the singing began. "Maggie I loooooove you..." 

My friend Kyler was inviting me to breakfast at a local cafe with a group of my theatre friends from high school. 

And let me tell you, it was absolutely refreshing. 

I even had an adventure before I even arrived. As I left the house, I realized that my parents and brother had made off with the family cars, so I decided to walk to the cafe. Halfway there, I realized that walking would take too long, so I gave Kyler a text. 

A few minutes later, Kyler and another friend careened onto the street and stopped the car. Kyler then proceeded to jump out of the car, make a mad dash in my direction, scoop me into his arms, and carry me over to the car, almost shy of chucking me into the backseat. We sped away thereafter. 

What a way to start the morning. 

 Theatre groupies at breakfast. 

Attempting to force feed Sam a pancake. 

The day was then spent sleeping, trying on old uniforms, and eating Chinese food with my family. 

Noodle therapy really works. Sometimes it's the little things. 

 The high school's new band uniforms for brother, my old winter guard uniform from my freshman year for me. 

The second time I was picked up today.  

Glad to know it still fits!

I'm not nearly where I need to be right now, but thank you so much for glancing at the ol' blog every once in a while. Does mean a lot. :) 

I'll leave you with this quote I stumbled upon this evening: 

"Be who you were created to be, and you will set the world on fire," ~ St. Catherine of Sienna

Fantasy Preview and Cover Reveal: "The Orphan's Song"

As an avid blog reader, I enjoy taking a break and catching up on blogs of all sizes from bloggers on different walks of life. One I started reading recently is that of author Gillian Bronte Adams on "Of Battles, Dragons, And Swords of Adamant." 

It's a fantastic place for writers and fans of beautiful written word.

Gillian is on the brink of weaving a new tale, "The Orphan's Song", but due to a few recent adventures, she's asked her readers to help spread the word of her book. And I thought I would help a fellow blogger out. :)

I tend to support things that's I'm passionate about, and writing, especially that of the fantasy genre, is something I adore.

So, if you're into a rich fantasy, or know of someone who is, send 'em her way. Hopefully, there will be more coverage as the time draws closer to the book's release.

But in the meantime, here's a cover and a short synopsis to go with it!

Every generation has a Songkeeper – one chosen to keep the memory of the Song alive. And in every generation, there are those who seek to destroy the chosen one.

When Birdie’s song attracts the attention of a notorious Khelari soldier, she is captured and forced into a centuries old conflict plagued with ancient secrets and betrayals. Rescued by traveling peddler Amos McElhenny, Birdie flees the clutches of her enemies, determined to discover the truth behind the Song’s power.

Ky Huntyr has stolen many a thing in his time as a street-wise thief and senior member of the Underground—a gang of orphans banded together to survive—but he never thought he would be guilty of successfully stealing a priceless treasure from the Khelari and bringing their wrath on his comrades. Haunted by the tragic consequences of his raid, Ky joins Birdie and Amos in hopes of drawing the Khelari after him to keep the Underground safe.

But war soon threatens all of Leira, and the enemy is closing in. When Amos’ shadowed past threatens to undo them all, Birdie is forced to face the destiny that awaits her as the Songkeeper of Leira.

Piqued your interest? 
You can visit the official Kickstarter page here: 

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/enclave/enclave-publishing-fall-releases

And you can visit Gillian's blog here: 

http://ofbattlesdragonsandswordsofadamant.blogspot.com/