Sestina

A sestina is a poem of six stanzas with six lines each and the same six words at the end of each line. The last stanza is three lines with two of the words in each line. Here is my sestina:

I have to tell you about how I’m awesome.

One day I went out

To eat at this restaurant with a girl and a dude.

She was saying that I should date this guy.

“He sees me as just a friend,”

I said. “But if he asked me out-wow.”

 

Yeah, if I dated a guy like that-wow.

He’s got a great sense of humor and is clearly awesome.

We actually met through a friend

When he randomly stopped by during a night out.

If he was a little chubbier he’d be my ideal guy.

For the moment I just think he’s a cool dude.

 

Since he isn’t into me, I’m on the search for another dude.

He should be nerdy, but not into W.O.W.

That’s when they become a video game and stop being a guy.

They think that only their game is awesome.

If their girl doesn’t like it, they cast her out.

No, my nerdy one should be a little more than a friend.

 

Boy, I would be a great girlfriend.

I’m always laughing with a sense of humor like a dude

Who thinks it’s all funny, even when others are grossed out.

Like when Steve Carell says “Wow,

This is graphic” in the 40-Year-Old Virgin, which was an awesome

Movie. It’s got Paul Rudd in it. I love that guy.

 

Let’s talk about food with this hypothetical guy.

He should like Asian food, my friend.

Why? Because Asian food is awesome.

I ate it growing up in Hawaii, dude.

You would not believe how much they eat there, like wow.

So this date and I would eat that when we go out.

 

We don’t have to go out.

I can just be a girl and him a guy.

I don’t have to have a man who makes the ladies say “wow.”

If you are my friend,

And chubby, and a dude,

Ask me on a date. I promise it would be awesome.

 

Anyway, dude. You don’t have to ask me out.

I’m fine with just being a friend to a really cool guy like you.

Wait? What? Now? Wow. That’d be awesome.

I’m bringing it home with me.

This is a poem that I wrote for my class. It is in the form of a villanelle.

Simple People

Our friendships are good.

The accent will always spread.

This is my neighborhood.

 

We know we should

Have babies. I want a cat instead.

Our friendships are good.

 

I never knew I could

Pet a cow. He peed when I touched his head.

This is my neighborhood.

 

Whenever we meet we eat some food.

“Taters,” chicken, pie, all precede bed.

Our friendships are good.

 

We remember to knock on wood.

We thank God for our daily bread.

This is my neighborhood.

 

The families here are sometimes misunderstood.

Sometimes I think I’m one step ahead.

Our friendships are good.

This is my neighborhood.

I’m A Geeky Nerd

My big topic this week is preparing for school. Here a few tips on getting ready to go back to college.

Supplies. Get the newspaper out. I know it’s a little tough to read an informative piece of paper that is sometimes boring. If you unfold it, there will be store circulars. Although it seems a little parent-like, clipping coupons and checking on sales is a really good thing. You’ll need the extra money for tuition and fuel. Shop around for the best deal. My best shopping trip of all time was when I planned to go to Target and Wal-Mart for their advertised deals. I saved 10s of dollars!

Tuition. Unless you are still in high school, which is free, you’ll be stressing about paying your college fees. Scholarship deadlines were way back in March, so the next step is student loans. I have unfortunately had to apply for a loan recently. My scholarship covered 1/2 of the tuition, leaving another half to pay for. (Remember, I love to state basic math on the weekends.) If you are rich with thousands of dollars, you don’t have this problem. Good for you.

People. Any time you see a person of authority at school, be friendly. It is really important to create a good impression at your college. Community college involvement leads to possible scholarships at a university. Even though fees are sometimes a little high, it’s nothing compared to the future monetary help. Oh, most universities require students to fill out the FAFSA.

ORGANIZATION. It’s in all caps for a reason. When you start off this year, organize everything. Make sure every little thing is ready and paid for, so you can concentrate on class. This is the dorkiest thing I can suggest, but don’t jump into using a spiral notebook. Use a three-ring binder. That way you can divide the subjects and see which one includes the most note taking. Not only does a student need to be organized in their backpack, but he or she should also be organized inside. Always schedule study time. Turning to the books when you think of it, or five minutes before class, can seriously affect your grades. They are called “pop tests” for a reason.

The Indie Film Showcase

Last night I went to the Shendopen Indie Short Film Showcase. Daniel Lee, a talented independent filmmaker from Guntown, invited his friends on MySpace to join in the fun. Since I’ve barely been to Starkville, I thought it would be a great opportunity to get out of town. I love to travel, even if it’s just an hour or two away.

Michelle and I drove down and met Glenn at Mugshots. The restaurant specializes in burgers and sandwiches. We all ordered the “Savell”–a very good burger. It’s official, burgers are 43% better with bacon on them.

When we walked over to the theatre, we saw that Daniel and his crew were locked out, along with 15 other people. I developed a theory that if you had any green on, you could get in. After about 15 minutes of unfortunate loitering, the doors were opened and we paid our admission. Michelle and I were branded with “X”s, while Glenn got a bracelet.

The seating was great in the theatre. We got a prime spot in the middle of the second row (out of four). More audience members stood in the bar area. A few minutes after settling, Glenn turned around and saw Carlton. This guy is super funny and outgoing. We met him at the gallery a few months ago while he was browsing through town. Anyhoo, Carlton joined us for the show. It’s always great to have more people to comment on big screen shows.

My favorite shorts were from the guys at goodcommitment.tv. They were funny and clever, but pretty similar to the late Comedy Central show “Stella.” Daniel’s films were interesting. I love the fact that he included color to contrast his classic black and white theme. He was thankful that his MySpace request did not go unanswered. Glenn is working on some films right now. He hopes to have an entry next year. To see Glenn’s website, click here.

After the show everybody met up at Waffle House. Daniel’s party arrived before ours, which is my fault. I gave the wrong directions. Glenn knew how to get there, so he saved it. Carlton ran out of gas, and got lost because of me. When everyone tried to call him, Carlton’s phone would not even go to voicemail. Daniel tried to cheer up the situation by saying “maybe he’ll just stumble in here somehow.” You know what? HE DID! Cheers abounded when he walked in.

Boisterious laughter lasted at Waffle House for an unclocked amount of time. Conversation included 80s movies, living in Japan, and embarrassing stories. Our food was all right. Carlton went “all the way” with some hashbrowns. Let’s just say that his food looked like he had returned to a foreign land. I will never order ambitious toppings for my breakfast starch.

A few pictures were taken. Once we realized that it was quite late, the hour and a half trip home began. It was a great night with good food and so much laughter that faces hurt.

Carlton, Daniel, and Glenn

Me, Carlton, Glenn, and Michelle taking our "internet" pictures

 

Ooo! I know her!

Tutoring in a community college on a Friday tends to be fairly slow. Everyone is ready to get away and lay in their tanning bed. Yes, I’m bitter about the paleness right now. As a way to pass the time I did what any English-loving, college-attending, Office-watching teenager would do–I looked up random movies on imdb.com. As my good friend Becky knows, the Internet Movie Database can provide hours of cinematic fun.

Did you know that Steve Martin has starred as a dentist in two movies? Little Shop of Horrors (1986) and Novocaine (2001). You know that red-haired guy that was in A Knight’s Tale and has parts in 3:10 to Yuma, Knocked Up, and played Pastor Veal on “Arrested Development”? His name is Alan Tudyk. He’s the kind of actor who makes you yell at the screen “I know who he is! He’s awesome!” For my fellow former Disney Channel lovers, detective Juliet O’Hara on “Psych” is played by Maggie Lawson, or popularly remembered as Janine Adams/Alex Burroughs in Model Behavior.

So, if your brushing up on your knowledge for the next “World Series of Pop Culture” or waiting for someone who writes how they speak to ask for assistance, the database is a great playground for the movie fiend.

One word: free.

Free samples on Wal-Mart.com are my new Internet obsession. Last week I received a day’s serving of cat food, tanning lotion, and anti-aging lotion. Yes, 19 years don’t result in a lot of aging, but it had no price!

Last week I saw Dr. Seuss’ Horton Hears A Who! That day was very busy. I worked out, tutored for many hours, and was only stocked with five hours of sleep. The previous list of activities was only typed to prove that I had a right to fall asleep for eight minutes while Kangaroo rallied up the town. If it’s any consolation, I didn’t pay for the movie. A co-worker of my dad gave him a $20 gift book. Once again, it didn’t cost anything!

Am I cheap? No. Responsible? Heck yes, I am. The Wedding Planner was on TBS last night after (you knew it was coming) The Office and Sex and the City. Why does McConaughey continue to make movies that inadvertently stay on your screen the whole two hours?

It doesn’t become easier the more you do it.

That’s what she said. 

Moving, in a phrase, “sucks lollipops.” Yes, I am 58 years too young to say such a noun. I did not have what you would call a “spring break.” Only my sanity broke around day four.

Day 1: The family prepares to move for the eighth time. We’ve moved across a country, a county, and a couple of states. You’d think we would be the best.

Day 2: I begin with the closet. A mild task that included extremely sentimental toys from childhood. Extra markers and crayons erupted from said hood to bring the dilemma of figuring out who needed them most. I was obviously out of the magenta and sky blue picture, but a church ultimately won. The cage match was crazy.

Day 3: The first round of old clothes vs. new clothes is a graphic one. A black business top fiercely flicks a button into a Target clearance item, but is unsuccessful in the war. Despite being outnumbered 3 to 5, new clothes came out on top. I’m sad to say that one traitorous still-tagged hoodie clouded things a bit.

Day 4: Flip-flops are not the most accommodating footwear for moving bedside tables. While pushing the ugliest entertainment center in history, I get the bruise that still graces the front of my right ankle four days and 15 hours later.

Day 6: Our hound dog decides that someone should have a spring break and runs away from the new house.

Day 7: The dog returned.

A Tangled Web of Thoughts

I am extremely bored waiting for a tutee, so I’m going to type some sincerely random thoughts. No, this isn’t a forward, I’m just bored and hyper.

1. Paper should be more colorful in everyday life. Despite coupons from the newspaper and textbook covers, there are rarely cases of pigment in the deceased tree products.

2. If you drink something out of a coffee cup that is not coffee, what do you call it? “Mountain Dew Cup”?

3. What is cooler than a sphere? I mean, it is just awesome. Almost like you want to draw a smiley face on it. So… that’s what Wilson was!

4. I think wearing your school ID around your neck is a good thing. Especially if these promiscuous girls wear them and get a suntan around their neck with an inch-wide line. If I had that happen to me, I would probably still write my name on the card-shaped part, for the weekends.

5. What made Faulkner so popular? I can barely read his work as it is.

6. How hard would it be to use a computer without a mouse? It’s sad just to think about.

7. How many Law and Orders are there? Will Mariska Hartigay run for president, too?

8. Why would anybody buy a car the color of puke?

9. Why is a Chevrolet called “shevy” but Chevy Chase is pronounced “chev-y.”

10. Can an uroligist tell the difference between female and male pee? (I just watched the “Drug Testing” Office episode recently.)

Did you watch the Oscars?

Ask four people if they watched the Oscars on February 24, 2008, and one will say yes. The others will be apprehensive to say no, because when someone asks about the Oscars, they likely watched it, and consequently want to talk about it. Well, here I go.

This year’s ceremony was the least watched of all. That’s 79 other shows that beat this one. (Announcing basic math makes me feel smart on Fridays.) I’ll start with the more oddball prizes. The Bourne Ultimatum won three: sound editing, sound mixing, and film editing. Sure, the academy has chosen action-filled movies before, but it is very strange that a movie produced to bring in teenagers and bored parents won an honor prestigious enough for famous adapted screenplays. Yes, I thought No Country For Old Men should have won film editing, primarily for the fact that instead of getting lost in characters and death scenes, the movie focused on a plot.

Once was awarded for best original song, and rightly so. These two people are by all standards common folk. They wrote a song that brought an extremely low-budget film to the Academy Awards for its only nomination. Let’s just hope society doesn’t grab the lyrics and remix it to a Jay-Z/Rihanna sound. Ug, that’s sad just to think about, isn’t it?

It didn’t win anything (thank heavens), but Norbit should not have been nominated at all. I am actually hesitant to italicize because that implies it was a movie. The 3,849th Eddie Murphy [in multiple roles!] thing was an embarrassment to have in the ceremony. Jon Stewart mocked it within a segway. Did any members of the academy actually watch it? 

This year a movie didn’t have to do well at the box office to be nominated. May I call Elizabeth: The Golden Age, In The Valley of Ellah, Eastern Promises and Gone Baby Gone to the stand? Do you even remember Eastern Promises? It had Naomi Watts. There. That’s what you remember.

Hooray for the Coens. I enjoyed Fargo and only expected better things from them. Frances McDormand felt the same way. No Country For Old Men might just be my favorite movie of the year. It stays with you long after you watch it. I am 19 years old, and when I try to talk to others about “a drug deal gone awry, a thing that looks like an oxygen tank that kills cattle and people, too, and how to perform surgery on a bullet wound to the upper leg inside a hotel room,” there are some stares. Many have never heard the name Javier Bardem.

 That’s why I’m fortunate to have my friends. We had chicken strips and potato soup during the show. I had two Oscar ballots: one for myself, and one they made into a question sheet. They all “had to” support Johnny Depp, but I told them there was no way Sweeney would win. Oh, and it should be noted that I did not read Entertainment Weekly’s special issue before casting my ballot. I’m just that good.

Frogs and the City

Today I did not work out. I want to go home early. My day involves so many things that there is a chain reaction if I just go to the bathroom. (Oh, I’ve recently added calendar #4, on the desktop of my computer.)

 Valentine’s Day was belated a couple of days for me. I was busy producing a short film with friends (details may be divulged soon). My boyfriend bought a frog for me and put it in a balloon. The pillow he holds asks ”Kiss me. I may be your prince.” This gift was influenced when we drove by a gift shop that had an entire display of frogs for possible valentines. “Why do girls like frogs so much?” my guy inquired. After receiving the gift I considered the backstory of such amphibian appreciation. My hypothesis is that girls remember the stories of the frog turning into a prince, and grew that connection throughout adolescence. Women love romance.

 Last night I watched TBS for a couple of hours. Heaven help me, I still watch Sex and the City. It completely stamps a chick mark on my forehead, but the show is like a romantic comedy in only 30 minutes. However, the two episodes last night were of Aiden and Carrie blissfully dating and the writer meeting his parents. Big shows up, wanting to be with Carrie again. I was happy with how the series ended, but such a good relationship being ruined by anything will of course upset a viewer. Steve + Miranda = best fictional couple on the show. Before SATC, I watched The Office (“The Negotiation” two days in a row. So good.) and laughed more than I have since Sunday (while filming). 10 Items or Less was up next and I only watched the first ten minutes and the last five minutes of it. Dirty dishes! Am I a dork for enjoying a good dish washing?