Today’s prompt asks: What does your ideal community look like? How is it organized, and how is community life structured? What values does the community share? Continue reading “Idyll Neighborhoods”
Tag: Humor
What’s For Breakfast?
Ever since my aunt and cousin left, the fridge has been mostly empty. We went from going grocery shopping every few days, which is crazy, to every two weeks or month, which is what we do now. Continue reading “What’s For Breakfast?”
A Quick Synopsis
Today’s prompt asks: Write a summary of the book you’ve always wanted to write for the back cover of its dust jacket. Continue reading “A Quick Synopsis”
Writing 101: Don’t Stop Rockin’
Man, I’ve been just so busy this last month, with school, the new job, and the A to Z challenge, it felt like I spent most of April just rushing from place to place. I am just now catching up with the Writing 101 assignments. Continue reading “Writing 101: Don’t Stop Rockin’”
Stepping Out
Today’s Prompt asks: When was the last time you did something completely new and out of your element? How was it? Will you do it again? Continue reading “Stepping Out”
#AtoZChallenge – Z For…
Wow, can you believe it’s the last day of April already? I can hardly believe it. This challenge’s been fun even though my theme’s been all over the place. Continue reading “#AtoZChallenge – Z For…”
Writing 101: Give and Take
The assignment is to write a post based on the compare and contrast of two things. This is also a response for today’s prompt: Pick a letter, any letter. Now, write a story, poem, or post in which every line starts with that letter. Continue reading “Writing 101: Give and Take”
#AtoZChallenge – Y For Yellow
An obvious choice, isn’t it?
I went out into the garden yesterday. The storm from two weeks ago and last week had managed to kill all the blossoms. Though the trees grew tremendously, there was nothing but leaves. I doubt there’ll be fruit this year. Continue reading “#AtoZChallenge – Y For Yellow”
#AtoZChallenge – X For X
These last three letters are going to be hard just because I’m already having trouble thinking up with words that begins with the letters X, Y, and Z. Therefore, I’m going to highlight the use of the letter X. Continue reading “#AtoZChallenge – X For X”
#AtoZChallenge – W For West Coast
When I taught English as a Second Language (ESL) at the private school, I used to ask my students. “Where are you going for college?”
Continue reading “#AtoZChallenge – W For West Coast”
Unpredictable Transformation
Today’s prompt asks: When the full moon happens, you turn into a person who’s the opposite of who you normally are. Describe this new you. Continue reading “Unpredictable Transformation”
The Barter System
If the world changed its system, from monetary to non-monetary (barter), I think it might either make the world a whole lot better or a whole lot worse. Wars can start because of bad service or people not fulfilling their promises.
This system might actually get people to stop thinking about money. Maybe it’s just me but I feel like it’s all anyone care about these days. Money money money. Do you disagree with me?
I mean, people spend all their time working for money. Some of those people is me, girl who works two jobs. Where do the money go after we work? Taxes, luxury goods, so on. Almost 50% of mine happen to go to taxes. Darn you government for taxing single people.
If the world works on a bartering system, it might get people to focus on necessity instead of luxury. Like service for a house or food for food. Wouldn’t that make the world better? I think countries might even not be in so much debt.
I have to admit, I didn’t know about the bartering system until I took an economic class last summer. I don’t even know what the word barter meant. But once I began reading about it, I was fascinated by it. I thought why can’t we initiate such system again? I say again because there had been numerous bartering systems in ancient times. There are probably still some markets around the world with a bartering system. Now, those people will do fine if the world worked on a bartering system.
Who knows, I might be successful under this system. I know how to do plenty of things. I might not be good at it but I know why does it matter? On the other hand, there are some chances I can fail. Dissatisfaction of service? It wouldn’t be the first time.
#AtoZChallenge – U For Update
This morning, I woke up to something horrific! The time on my alarm clock read 3:10. I jolted up like I’ve just been zapped with a thousand volts of electricity. Is this a dream? I often have dreams about being late for school. Did I just slept the entire day? Why didn’t anyone wake me? Is this like a parallel universe or something?
Anxiously, I reached for the useless cell phone which I only use for the alarm function. I pressed a random button and the screen lit up. 7:55. I relaxed a little and peeked at the other alarm clock on top of the dresser next to me. It was flashing and immediately, I knew what it meant. It meant we lost power during the night.
Just then my mom barged into my room. “Did we lose power?” I asked.
“Did we?” She replied, clueless.
“Uh, my clocks are flashing.”
“I just know we lost the internet.” How does she know that, I wonder? Because if the internet was out when the power went out, then when the power came back on, so should the internet and in minutes. Does this mean she was up in the middle of the night?
I still haven’t reset my clocks yet, maybe later. I just came home a few hours ago after sitting in the testing center for three hours taking an exam about a book with concepts that feels way out of time. It’s a textbook novel about the evolution of cost accounting in a hospital setting. I hope I did well. I still have three more exams before I’m officially done with this semester.
I came home, almost 1 pm, hands shaking and stomach growling. I asked my mom if she’d eaten yet (being thoughtful). She said yeah and told me to eat all the leftover beef. I looked at the bowl of leftover beef. “It’s too much. I can’t eat it all.”
“Then make some noodle for me.”
“I thought you’ve eaten.”
“But I’m not full.”
I threw in an extra ramen and when I was so close to be done, she came downstairs, frustrated. She had just texted her tenant about the air conditioning tuneup appointment she had made for them all by herself. “Put some lettuce in there. We have so much.”
I paused cooking and became irritated. Don’t get angry, don’t get angry. I told myself. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. “I just want this done. I want to eat.” I said with clenched teeth.
“Fine whatever. Too much, you complain, not enough, you complain.” I took a few more super deep breaths, convinced myself to ignore her.
After the beef was done, I just poured them with the noodles. I sat at the end of the counter and ate my lunch silently. I was in no mood to make conversation, although I had no idea why. The moment I finished cleaning everything up, I bolted for my room. I sat at the computer, wanted to start studying for the next exam but my brain was fried. I had no idea what to write for anything let alone the A to Z challenge. So I spent the afternoon catching up on TV shows.
Now, I think I’m ready to get back to work and study for the next exam now. Anyway, just a quick update. 🙂
Hot and Spicy? No Thank you.
Daily Prompt: Do you love hot and spicy foods or do you avoid them for fear of what tomorrow might bring? Continue reading “Hot and Spicy? No Thank you.”
#AtoZChallenge – S/T For San Francisco/Turtles
I’m combining S and T so I don’t have to write another post. Continue reading “#AtoZChallenge – S/T For San Francisco/Turtles”
Currently Reading…
The Millionaire Next Door. It’s not a fun book to read, although some parts are part, when the authors write scenarios. Some of the scenarios, I have to admit are pretty funny yet realistic.
I’m not reading this book for fun. It’s for that book report for my cost accounting class and until I finish with that book report, I cannot read anything else which I’m dying to. There are so many books in my digital library. They are crying “read me, read me!” It just makes me want to scream.
The book is essentially the results from the research of which the authors has conducted to prove millionaire don’t live a luxurious life. They don’t have expensive clothes, expensive cars, or even expensive houses. They live in middle class neighborhoods and drive batter old cars. Hell, they are not even millionaires, not unless they liquidated all their assets. Apparently, the millionaires in the book don’t actually make a-million-dollar a year. Apparently, their net worth exceeds a-million-dollars and that’s what makes them millionaires.
Okay, I guess even dumbbells know that unless you’re a star or a professional sports celebrity, you’ll make less than a million. I also learned some new terms like under accumulator of wealth (UAW) or prodigious accumulator of wealth (PAW). Probably most of us all UAW because we like to spend money unlike the frugal PAWs which makes them millionaires.
Anyway, I think the bottom takeaway point of this redundant and boring book is by investing instead of spending, it’s possible we can go from UAW to PAW and probably become millionaires. Frankly, I can write on and on about the spending habits but I’m out of words for this darn strict prompt.
Thanks for reading. 🙂
#AtoZChallenge – R For Reminder/Ranch
There are so many words for R. Therefore I’m going to throw out two from the top of my head. Just now, while I waited for my lunch to finish cooking in the microwave, my eyes landed on the calendar. I’ve been very fuzzy lately and often forget the date. I know what day it is, just can’t remember the date. So when my eyes landed on the calendar, I thought it was weird. An eye exam? Today? Oh no!
The eye exam isn’t for me, it’s mom’s. Gosh I cross my fingers to hope she remembered. If she misses the appointment, it will be all my fault and I will be in such big trouble. I’m already in big trouble last night for not calling her immediately the insurance company never put my old car back onto the insurance policy last October.
You see, that’s a downside of not having a cell phone. I don’t know where she works nowadays and have no clue if she checks the texts and I hate texting, did I mention that? Anyway, if she checks it, great, but if she doesn’t, it’ll still be my fault for not taking the aggressive approach to inquire the insurance agent. In another word, scream at the agent.
Therefore, if I screw up again today, I don’t know what will happen to me. I’m scare which brings me to the second word, ranch. If I can get away now, I will probably go to a ranch. After all, a lot of fugitives (joking, maybe) have known to hide out in ranches. Hey, I’m a fugitive, a fugitive of an emotionally abusive mother. Isn’t that reason enough?
I want to go to a ranch because of the vast space. Acres and acres of grass and land. No burning hot asphalt and certainly no pavement. I would love that. Wait doesn’t everybody?
Temporary Home
No one was fated to spend a life in such a small space, especially not these brothers, just barely getting by, dependent on its caretakers to feed and bathe them. The book, Temporary Home, chronicles the brothers’ daily life and reading their story will bring you to tears.
Temporary Home begins in the brothers’ early days when they had spent in an aquarium. They had many great friends but somehow their friends would disappear now and then. Their then-caretaker told them he had found a great home for their friends. On that fated day, their future caretaker, a girl with long silky black hair and glasses approached the tank. “Which do you like?” Their caretaker had asked the girl.
The girl pointed at the brothers and at that moment, they knew the girl would be their new home. The moment they arrived at their new home, the girl fed them pellets she had bought at the store, just three. The brothers ate hungrily and after that eyed the container of pallet, wanting more but their owner had stopped caring for them.
A few months later, the brothers were passed onto their owner’s friends while their owner went on vacation. The brothers’ life at the friends were even worse. They spent day after day, almost drowning in their urine and feces.
A few months later, the brothers were once again passed onto another. This time, a lady and a girl. At first glance, the brothers knew they would be the same as the friends but at the same time, they knew this would be different. They were right.
Their new caretakers made sure they were well-fed, clean, and warm. This was the best home they ever had but they knew this is not forever. Eventually, they would have to return to their lives of starvation and misery.
My review: five out five stars, definitely.
I love the personification of this book. The author portrait the turtle brothers like real people. Reading it the first time, you can never tell whether it was talking about the life of a person or animals. The brothers seemed so real.
It definitely made me cry, alright especially the part of the brothers not getting enough to eat. I felt so bad for them. No one should be starved. So yes, I will definitely recommend this book even if it’s not written.
Writing 101: Point of View
Okay, I’m going out of order here so I can catch up with this week’s writing 101 assignments. This is Day 9’s assignment. I hope you will enjoy my bit of flash. 🙂 Continue reading “Writing 101: Point of View”
#AtoZChallenge – P For Park City
At times, I really wish my mom would go on more of those training where she’s not allow to call home. Like when she went to basic training, the only thing I got during that period was a long hand-written letter, the first I’ve gotten since coming to the U.S which was nice. Continue reading “#AtoZChallenge – P For Park City”
No such thing…
Today Prompt: This just in: let’s pretend that science has proven that karma is a thing. Your words and actions will influence what happens to you in the future. How (if at all) will you change your ways? Continue reading “No such thing…”
#AtoZChallenge – O For Out with it
Okay, I’ll just come out and say it. It’s Friday! You know what that means? The weekend!
I’ve been super behind with almost everything this week (blogging, writing 101, work etc). I haven’t gone to work half of the week and I feel like everything is rushing by while I am just standing still. For school, I feel like I’m just dragging myself through it, like my teacher said, “You’re at the last few miles of the marathon, your feet are bleeding and you’re breathless. You just want it over.”
That is exactly what I want, for everything to be over. Yesterday, almost as soon as I stepped through the door, the plumber pounded on the door. I had to take them to the rental home where the tenant complained there was a leakage in the pipes. It turned out our know-it-all ex-tenant, the one who built the basement bathroom without consulting us first, plumbed the place completely wrong. So that was $350 to re-connect the pipes.
Mom was completely pissed when she heard how much I paid. “What were you thinking?”
“You hired the guy.” I retorted. It is super frustrated when that happens.
I was in my room after that, quickly drafted the A to Z challenge post (20 minutes) before writing the post for the prompt. Unfortunately I got a little distracted and didn’t finish it until this morning. I would’ve finished it last night but I was dead tired after coming home from the GMAT workshop at my alma mater. I even fell asleep in the car. Thank god I wasn’t driving.
I’m alone at the moment but I’m afraid this peace won’t last long. Mom’d be home soon. I thought I just throw this post out there before I brace for another weekend of annoyance and anger.
To learn a third language…
Though right now, I can speak two languages, Chinese and English, I cannot speak them fluently. In fact, oftentimes, I still get mixed up between the two. This past month, my mom had enrolled herself into a leadership class and I had to proofread her assignments for her. I don’t know why I have to do that though since she insults my grammar afterward. She calls my English awkward and repetitive and my grammar awful. “I don’t know how you can write so awful.” Her words, not mine.
Do I really write that bad? Even my instructor had returned my paper, docking me five points for bad grammar. On the other hand, I’m not getting much complaints on here. So I’m not sure which is true. .
Anyway, if I can wake up tomorrow and be fluent in any language, I would choose English. I would speak no more Chinese, it would be a thing of the past. My grammar would not be awkward and I would not have any trouble expressing myself.
Of course, WP won’t let me do that. According to the prompt, I have to choose a language I don’t already speak. Well, in that case, I would choose Spanish because most jobs out there nowadays require a second language, Spanish. My mom said they’re in need of Chinese speaker but honestly, I don’t see many jobs with a requirement for Chinese speaker, unless you’re a translator, of course.
Anyway, I would speak a mouth of fluent Spanish. I would be able to curl my tongue to make the “r” sound, no problem. I’m not sure about the first thing I would do, maybe write it on my resume so I can earn more money with bilingual jobs? No idea.
