Funny February

At the beginning of this month I was talking to my brother about stuff, particularly about this here blog.  That developed into a challenge for each other--write down the funniest thing that happens every day in February.  Unfortunately neither of us actually fulfilled the challenge, and I missed several days of this month.  I guess I should have put this on my daily to-do list.  But when I did remember, it was a good brain exercise to recall funny events from the day.  So here's my comic relief from the month.

FEBRUARY

2: A girl on my hall routinely makes phone calls on speaker while in the shower.  She has the advantage of holding the conversation in Spanish so that it's still "private," but it always amuses me to hear someone using the phone in the shower.

3: The "funniest" thing that happened today was the fact that I spent basically all day on my bed doing homework.  Somehow I don't find that all that funny.

4: My roommate and her sister are so hilarious.  I got some good laughs out of listening to the sister bemoan her coming-up interview assignment and then proceed to seemingly forget how to even talk in full sentences.  This is the meaning of college.

5: "Eating oranges is like eating sunshine.  It's good for you."  When it comes to rants about staying healthy, my history teacher is quite humorous.  "And DON'T drink out of the water fountains!!"

6: "I don't like mint anything.  Mint is for toothpaste.  When I see people buy mint ice cream, I wonder why they don't just eat their toothpaste.  I don't like to eat toothpaste."  ~roommate

7: "Mmmm, this food is actually warm and smells so good.  Should we just sit here and smell it until it gets to a food temperature we're used to?"  A friend and I went out to a restaurant for dinner and couldn't stop marveling over the characteristics of "real food." We were so excited to eat something hot and flavored, which isn't quite what we're used to on campus.

9: "Studying" with a friend at breakfast.  When it comes to history, we get to argue about pronunciation and talk about things completely unrelated to history.  It's always a good way to start the morning.

10: So many funny things about today, but watching faculty against students in a Family Feud on campus was pretty amazing.  It's so much fun to see the teachers outside of the classroom and in their real personalities.

11: ...studying for history?

12: I don't usually text people about tests right afterward, but today I did because I was previously joking with a friend about this specific test and my high expectations of the grade.  But I didn't feel too good about it after the test was over, so I texted her and said "that was NOT an A"....I was thankful to be proven wrong.

13: Walking downtown and exaggerating about everything is actually pretty fun.  After being within the "BJU Bubble" for so long, getting out into the world made Mariah and I notice things a lot more than usual.  "Look at those people running so slowly."  "Look at the beautiful, muddy river."  "I'm sure the color of the trees and grass are brighter out here."

16: I got some pretty wonderful mail today...a package from my mom that contained a most extraordinary object.  The grey pom-pom bird, yet unnamed, will probably always bring a huge smile to my face.

18: I got to Skype with my family--all getting together for a traditional, family Valentines party without me.  I was particularly ecstatic to "be there" for the announcement of niece/nephew #14!  As soon as I got off with my family, I had to go to my friend's room and force her to be excited with me.  "I know you don't care, but I just had to share it with someone..."

19: My bowling abilities have declined since last time I visited the alley.  My bowling experience has been minimal, but a friend and I got to go again for a special discount night nearby.  She skunked me, but we both had to laugh over our bowling skills compared to the people surrounding us.






20: I chose the wrong friend to join me in a vendor table walk-through on campus...a supposedly 20 minute limit I gave turned into an hour as she dragged me through the whole room of tables.

23: History is so much funnier with memory connectors.  And sometimes those connectors get seemingly out of hand, involving learning a German word and mispronouncing names.

24: A friend's basketball game was pretty intense with a final win by 2 points!

26: Fire drills involve breaking so many rules.  Being outside after curfew, in pajamas (!), and without shoes in some cases.

27: Realized--maybe for the first time--that the light will not come on more gradually even if I flip the switch very slowly.

28: A friend and I got in line for dinner tonight; a couple seconds later I turned to her with a confused face and said, "Umm.."  And she just says, "Yeah, I know.  I'm not sure."  The best thing is that we both know exactly what the unspoken sentences are.

College kids in the real world

So, you know, sometimes life on campus can get really dull.  The people all start to look recognizable--even if you've never met them before--and the food is predictable.

Getting off-campus can be quite a treat.  And since it's such a special, rare occasion, I like to choose my off-campus company carefully to make the most of the event.  I never go wrong when I invite Mariah to join me for a much needed outing just to get away and enjoy life unrelated to the reality of college, which stares us in the face every morning when we get up.
She has been, undoubtedly, one of the best parts of my semester.  From ice cream to history studying to devotional accountability...I could go on.  The point is that Mariah is a lot like me, and we have thoroughly enjoyed finding out more of our similarities.  And I'm so glad she's just down the hall so I can bug her all the time, ask for her advice, and feel deprived when we go a few hours apart.

In the past few weeks Mariah and I have gotten off campus a few times, which our brains seem to like.  As we walked the sidewalk of downtown Greenville a couple weeks ago, Mariah said it well: "I feel like we have been in a movie and now we're released into the real world again."  So maybe we did look around at the tall buildings and shops like exaggerating lunatics, but it sure made it more fun.

Thankful for gift cards that enable extra special treats!

"Wow, look at that beautiful water...a real river.  It's so perfect."  In reality, the water was very muddy and brown.  Maybe we were a bit optimistic.

Although we had to return to the world of college again, it is ok as long as we are in it together.  

"Sometimes being with your friend is all the therapy you need."

Short story feature

I am a little envious of one of my best friends, who has some mad writing skills.  Sometimes when I'm reading her writing, I think "how on earth did she know to write that into this scene??"  She has some incredible insights about people and situations in her writing.  Her writing is realistic, descriptive, and often inspiring.  So even though I don't have the writing skills that Hannah does, I'm so glad I get to read her work.  I can't wait to see her become a published author someday so that the world can also benefit from her skill.  But for now, I'm happy to be able to introduce one of her recent short stories!

Charlie

Hannah Tacci   -   1-24-2018

He had bucked teeth, was overweight, and the reek of drool, medicine, and body odor rested on him like a cloud. He didn’t often change his clothes, and his style certainly didn’t vary: T-shirt, sweat pants, and crocs. There was never a day when he wasn’t seen sporting his plastic Captain America wristwatch. He was thirteen. The kids at the school dubbed him “the Beluga,” partially for his size and partially because he was just that white. The last time he had a shower was in question, but one could guess it had been at least a week judging by his greasy hair.

That was Charlie.

No one liked him, and everyone knew why. The guy had no social boundaries or skills, no hygiene. He couldn’t even take a hint to accept the breath mint offered to him by the one nice girl in class. His classmates shoved by him in the hall, locked him in the bathroom, and barricaded him in at the top of the playground firepole, forcing him to slide down it after crying at the top for fifteen minutes.

Strangers stared at him, and his parents’ friends talked over him like he wasn’t there. “Does Charlie like ice-cream?” they’d say to his mom, even though he was sitting right there.

“Yes!” Charlie would yell, forgetting his indoor voice, forgetting he “wasn’t a part of the conversation.”

Charlie’s favorite pastime was spending hours upon hours on the computer, decoding things like Binary Numbers, learning keyboard shortcuts, and playing Chess. He could beat anyone at Chess, but no one knew because no one played with him.

But Charlie didn’t mind. He never did. He was always the first one to offer someone else his seat on the bus. He always brought his teacher a packet of stickers on the first day of school. He always prayed for the kids in his class.

Charlie would come home from school, and his mom would say, “How was your day, Char Char?”

He’d smile that buck-toothed grin and say, “Good.” He never told her that someone stuck gum on his chair in the cafeteria or that “Handsome”—the “cutest” boy in Math class—broke all his pencils. What was the point? Charlie figured that one could still get A’s with a piece of gum on their pants and half a pencil.

His mom would hug him and gently remind him to swallow.

He’d then go to his room and look at the Captain America poster on his wall. Jesus was Charlie’s first hero, but Captain America would forever be a close second. Someday, Charlie would be like Steve Rogers: picked on at first, but he wouldn’t mind. He’d still be good, and someday, he’d be great—maybe even save the world.

He never got that chance. You see, Charlie died a week before his fourteenth birthday. His brain condition slowly took over until he had no fight left. But Charlie never complained.

No one at school cared once he was gone, except maybe the teachers and the breath mint girl. The other kids just had to find someone else to pick on. Why would they care? They were all better than him. Maybe. Then again, maybe not.

I wonder if the world couldn’t use more Charlies.