Teacher, I finished my assignment!

So, there was this writing meme making the circuit. Well, it didn't start out as a writing meme, but Vahid turned it into something fabulous, and then Hilly quickly followed.

I thought about doing it myself, because I'd like to fancy myself a writer, after all. But, I was worried. What if my contribution sucked? But, today, I bit the bullet, and sat down and quickly wrote something out.

Here's my attempt.

So, the idea is, take these five questions and answer them...creatively!

1.What were you doing 10 years ago?
2. What five things are on your to-do list for today?
3. Snacks I enjoy…
4. Things I would do if I was a billionaire…
5. Places I have lived…

And here I go. Be gentle with my delicate writer's soul....

1.
She stared at the bleak landscape surrounding her, and watched quietly as the tumbleweed bounced along, pacing the truck. Had she really gotten up enough courage to leave everything she had ever known?

Leaving an abusive relationship had been hard enough…there had been all the drama that surrounded that sort of thing. The fear, the loss of everything she owned, the court proceedings that had been there to protect her…but, she hadn’t been entirely sure that they would be enough. She didn’t trust her ex, and when she found out he had conveniently moved 2 blocks away from her new place, she knew it was time to leave.

But, this? Packing up and moving to a state she’d never even been to before? This was reckless! She turned and gazed at the boy driving the truck. He’d been her best friend through all of the craziness of the last year, and somehow that friendship had turned to something more. She was still kind-of amazed about that.

He had known she was scared and unhappy about the situation with her ex, so one day he took her to the park, set her down on the grass, and pulled out a map of the United States.
“Close your eyes and point.” He’d said.

“Why?” she’d asked, but did it anyways. She opened her eyes, and her finger was resting on Colorado.

“How do you feel about the mountains?” he grinned.

So, now, a few weeks later, they were on their way…off to a new state, a new life…something entirely different.
She closed her eyes and breathed.

2.
She stared at the computer screen. She’d never been one for lists, but she read somewhere they were supposed to make things easier.

She quickly typed. #1- “Clean the house.” She looked around at the disaster surrounding her, and quickly erased it.

Let’s try this again. #1- “Write.” She opened Word, and stared at the manuscript. She sighed. Not today…the damn muse was hiding again. She closed down Word, and erased that suggestion.

Okay…think…. #1- “Eat something.” That was easy enough. A few minutes later, she was back at the list. Did that really count? Probably not. She sighed, and hit delete.

#1- “Do some laundry.” Fuck. That would involve organizing clothes. She quickly erased it, thought a moment, and then smiled.

#1- “Go to best friend’s house, drink and watch movies.” She stared at the list and nodded. Well, at least she could accomplish one thing today! Lists were stupid, anyhow.

3.
She downed the Dr. Pepper, and grabbed a few pieces of hard candy. The junk food expo was great, and she was having a grand time gaining a million pounds.

She’d already eaten some Smartfood popcorn, washed it down with a slurpee, and then followed that with some Hostessy goodness. She took another swig of her soda, and listened to her stomach make accusing noises at her.

Maybe she’d go to the veggie convention next week, after all.

4.
She stared at the mountains surrounding her. Was she really in Scotland? It seemed like only yesterday she’d sold the film rights to her first mega-successful novel for the unheard of sum of 1 billion dollars, and now here she was! Glencoe was as beautiful as everyone promised!

Next on the itinerary was Ireland, because she was Irish, after all. She always believed that if she stepped foot on the soil there, something magical would happen. She wanted to go there first, really, but she realized she had to wait. Something in her had somehow always missed a place she’d never even been to before, and that feeling had always thrown her off a bit. But, she’d wanted to see Scotland, too…so, she went there first…leaving Ireland’s magic until last.

She was glad she’d been able to make sure her closest friends never had to worry about money again, and she’d already bought a house. That was quickly followed by the purchase of a new car that actually ran, she sent her kids off to have fun at various camps, and then she went on this vacation of a lifetime…by herself. She breathed in the fresh air, and watched the mists roll over the mountains, and smiled. Life was good.

5.
She gazed out at the ocean. There was nothing like the Oregon Coast. It was the most beautiful place she’d ever been, thus far, and she wondered how she had ever managed to live away from the Ocean. There was something about the water that instantly put her at ease, and made everything calm inside of her.

Colorado had been beautiful, but she missed the ocean so much when she was there. The lakes were gorgeous, yes, but they weren’t the same. They couldn’t compete with the ocean.

California had the ocean, too…but, it was different. Too glitzy, too perfect…it didn’t have the rugged, wild beauty that the Oregon beaches did.
She sat down on the cold sand, and watched the crashing waves roll towards her…reveling in the feel of the water tickling her toes.

Murder: In Two Parts

Scene One-

Setting- Pristine, clean house...quiet before bedtime.

Woman- Hey can you make sure the house stays clean before you come to bed? I worked all day cleaning it, and I know how you are.

Man- No problem. I doubt I'll move off of this couch, anyhow.


Scene Two-

*Five Hours Later* Woman wakes up and goes downstairs to find house DESTROYED. Clothes strewn everywhere, food on floor in both living room AND kitchen, plates and bowls on furniture and floor, food and utensils and gunk all over kitchen, trail of popcorn leading from kitchen to living room, Hansel and Gretel style...etc, etc...

Woman spends 20 minutes cleaning at 3 am, and then stomps upstairs, where man is awake and looking suspiciously like he "wants" something.

Woman- DON'T even think about it!! If you think you're getting anything after I had to clean up a giant mess that you were SUPPOSED to contain, then you're sadly mistaken.

Man- *looking GENUINELY affronted* B-but....I DID contain it!!

*stunned silence*

Woman- To what?? The INSIDE of the house??

fin

Stealing Mosaics.

Stealing this from Karl, who stole it from someone else, who stole it from someone else...(Lather, Rinse, Repeat.)

The concept:
1. Type your answer to each of the questions below into Flickr Search.
2. Using only the first page of results, pick one image.
3. Copy and paste each of the URLs for the images into Big Huge Lab’s Mosaic Maker to create a mosaic of the picture answers.

The questions:
1. What is your first name?
2. What is your favorite food? right now?
3. What high school did you go to?
4. What is your favorite color?
5. Who is your celebrity crush?
6. What is your favorite drink?
7. What is your dream vacation?
8. What is your favorite dessert?
9. What do you want to be when you grow up?
10. What do you love most in life?
11. What is one word that describes you?
12. What is your flickr name?

And my resulting mosaic? Click on it for a bigger view.

1. Adena Mound, 2. The famous Fly Mushroom, 3. T&E General Store, 4. Greener Pastures, 5. 264319~Gerard-Butler-Posters, 6. Drink Dr. Pepper!, 7. Glencoe, 8. Candy, 9. The Writer, 10. Snowmen family in TX, 11. Dork., 12. Dominoes